E-Paper
Zira liquor factory stir: No written orders even week after closure announcement
Even more than a week has passed since the announcement made by chief minister Bhagwant Mann to shut down Zira liquor factory but its management has not received any written notice or communique mentioning such order or the reasons to close down the liquor unit
Even more than a week has passed since the announcement made by chief minister Bhagwant Mann to shut down Zira liquor factory but its management has not received any written notice or communique mentioning such order or the reasons to close down the liquor unit.
“We have not received any written orders from the state government on Zira liquor factory matter,” said Gagandeep Singh, sub divisional magistrate, Zira, while expressing inability to comment further on the matter.
The hearing on the notices of contempt of court in Punjab and Haryana high court, issued to additional chief secretary (home), AGDP (Law and Order), deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police, Ferozepur was scheduled but no hearing on the matter could take place, while matter has been adjourned to February 12.
“We have apprised the office of attorney general, Punjab that the order of court to ensure hassle free exit and entry to factory management was implemented in letter and spirit,” said Kanwardeep Kaur, senior superintendent of police, Ferozepur.
“Entry from gate number 2 of factory was facilitated to liquor factory management and they (factory) even sent their respective teams a number times inside the liquor unit and the same was video-graphed by them too,” said SSP.
Repeated attempts to contact factory management or owner remained futile.
“We are smelling something fishy on the part of state government on this issue. We have to further intensify the agitation, incase state government won’t issue notification or written order mentioning permanent closure of liquor factory, which had been indulged into ecological disorder for long time and a number of natives of 44 villages to its surrounding, had lost lives due to its pollution,” said Roman Brar, a member of Sanjha Morcha, Zira.
“We have also listed charter of demands which include compensation for farmers who died due to alleged pollution from the factory and withdrawal of cases against them but yet all in vain,” they further charged.
Giving in to the six-month-long protest by farmers and area residents against groundwater pollution, Bhagwant Mann on last Tuesday announced the closure of Malbros International Private Limited, an alcohol-making unit at Mansurwal village in Zira subdivision.
“We have demanded due compensation to the family of two farmers Rajvir Gill and Boota Singh, who died recently suffering from multiple diseases due to pollution besides all the labourers and employees of the liquor factory should also be compensated with ₹5 lakh each,” said Gurmail Singh, sarpanch village Mansurwal and a farm leader.
Owners of the liquor factory should be booked and fined for destroying the environment, and a multi-specialty hospital should be set up at Zira for better health care for local natives. Until the state government adheres to our demands, we won’t give up,” Sandeep Singh, a farm leader said. Since July 24, the factory belonging to former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA and liquor baron Deep Malhotra has been lying shut after farmers and natives of various surrounding the factory sat on a dharna outside the gates.
The factory had approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, which had asked the government to deposit ₹20 crore with the registry in two separate orders for failing to lift the protesters. The reports of water and soil samples collected from the vicinity of the factory by the teams formed by the state government are also expected on Friday. Due to shut down of the liquor factory, more than a thousand persons have been rendered jobless.
