PILIBHIT: Farmers in Pilibhit district have accused a local distillery of discharging toxic effluent into their agricultural fields, jeopardising crops, human health and animal life.
The distillery, located near village Jangrauli on National Highway 731, is owned by LH Sugar Mills and claims to utilise advanced technology for zero liquid discharge. Despite these claims, farmers allege the distillery is releasing effluent through a constantly overflowing channel, contaminating hundreds of acres of land in Jangrauli, Aliapur, and Jiraunia villages. Peetam Ram, Janki Prasad, Shalu Sharma, Manoj Saraswat, Puneet Tiwari, and Kamlesh Kumar are among the affected farmers.
“The effluent can severely pollute the subsoil water, disrupting its natural nutrient balance and increasing soil pH levels, potentially rendering the land barren,” said Dr Shailendra Singh Dhaka, a scientist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK).
Farmers claimed that the distillery’s chimney emits heavy ash, causing respiratory problems for hundreds of villagers, including children. The pollution reportedly affects seven villages - Bambapuri, Jangrauli, Alakthan, Prattappur, Khajuriya, Aliapur, and Jiraunia. Peetam Ram of Bambapuri village stated, “We are facing a perilous situation with toxic effluent and industrial ash pollution.”
TOI contacted distillery general manager Ranjan Mishra for comment, but he refused to speak on the matter. The chief environment officer at the Bareilly regional office of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board , Rohit Singh, said, “A central pollution control team inspected the distillery in January and found no irregularities. If a fresh complaint has been lodged with the CM, we will re-examine the issue.”.
Sub-divisional magistrate of Pilibhit Sadar circle, Devendra Singh, claimed he has not received any recent complaints. He added that the distillery management had compensated some farmers a few months ago for effluent discharge.Farmers claimed they’ve lost faith in local authorities. They have filed a fresh complaint with UP CM Yogi Adityanath through the IGRS (Integrated Grievance Redressal System), pleading for intervention to save their lives and livelihoods.
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