E-Paper
Ludhiana carcass utilisation plant faces stiff opposition from villagers
Residents of around a dozen villages have set up a tent at the entry point of the approach road towards the plant in Rasulpur Patti village, Noorpur bet area, 21km from the city, and are on a 24-hour protest since July 13, the day the project was to be inaugurated
Ludhiana A first-of-its-kind project for the state, a carcass utilisation plant is facing strong opposition. Residents of around a dozen villages have set up a tent at the entry point of the approach road towards the plant in Rasulpur Patti village, Noorpur bet area, 21km from the city, and are on a 24-hour protest since July 13, the day the project was to be inaugurated.
Once the plant that is meant to dispose of bodies of dead animals is functional, the contractor will sell their skin. A meat bone meal will be processed out of their bones and other body parts, which can be used as poultry feed. Currently, animals are skinned at the ‘Hadda Rodi’ on the banks of the Sutlej river in Laddowal area. The skinners dump the waste into the river, adding to the pollution.
Villages, however, fear that a population of 40,000-odd will face health issues when the plant becomes operational and also claim they were not consulted.
Rasulpur Patti former sarpanch Baldev Singh said, “The carcass plant cannot be established within 10km of a residential area according to the Supreme Court orders. Here, we have houses within 100-feet of the plant. Ground water level in the area is around 20 feet. Dumping of the plant’s wastewater will contaminate the ground water. Farming will be hit and the stink will affect development.”
The project, part of the Smart City mission, has now been indefinitely postponed; it has already been hanging fire since 2013. Work on the ₹8 crore project started only in July 2019.
The villagers claim that they had objected to the plant four years ago as well, but officials misled them into believing that a poultry feed manufacturing unit is being established. The protesting farmers have also moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the establishment of the plant.
“If no pollution will be created, then the MC should install the plant within its own limits,” claimed a farmer.
Noorpur Bet sarpanch advocate Gurdev Singh and Rasulpur Patti sarpanch Sucha Singh said that transportation of dead animals in the area will result in unhygienic conditions.
“We will not allow the MC to commission the plant at any cost. The MC has created wells in the plant to dump the waste. Dumping the waste water will contaminate the ground water and if the land turns infertile, farmers will loose their livelihood. People will avoid visiting the area, which will hit growth,” said Gurdev Singh.
No pollution will
happen, says mayor
The municipal corporation, however, has been asked by the NGT to start the project without further delay. Mayor Balkar Sandhu said, “The plant has been established for disposal of dead animals in a scientific manner and it is the first-of-its-kind in the state. We studied the model in Jodhpur first for it. We only want that no pollution is created while skinning the animals. Waste water generated will be also treated and the plant will not pollute the environment. We will allay villagers’ fears.”
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Strap/Blurb
Villages fear that a population of 40,000-odd will face health issues when the plant, hanging fire since 2013, becomes operational and also claim they were not consulted.
