The agitators accused the plant management and officials of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) of completely overlooking their genuine environmental and health concerns.
Protesters raised slogans against local MLA Hardeep Bawa, the ruling Congress government, the BJP and HPSPCB officials. Local women asserted that the plant had become a major health hazard, spreading filth into a nearby sports ground where local youth gather. “It has also become a breeding ground for insects that swarm our village, making life miserable and triggering severe health issues,” they said.
Managed by Shivalik Solid Waste Management Limited, the facility has been treating, disposing of and storing hazardous industrial waste at the site since 2007.
While the police and administrative officials rushed to the spot, they initially failed to pacify the protestors, who remained adamant about closing the plant.
The agitation intensified today when villagers pitched tents outside the plant gates. To defuse the situation, MLA Hardeep Bawa, former MLA Lakhwinder Rana, Nalagarh SDM Narender Ahluwalia, police officials and HPSPCB officials, including Atul Parmar, arrived at the spot to hear the public’s grievances.
Braving sweltering heat of over 40°C, the unyielding villagers marched nearly 1.5 km to show officials areas where stinking, untreated water had leaked from pipes and was percolating into the groundwater. Terming it a gross negligence by the plant management, residents reiterated their demand for immediate closure. The pungent odour emanating from the plant was so unbearable that officials and politicians were forced to cover their faces.
Following the inspection, the HPSPCB staff collected water samples from various sites to test whether industrial effluent was being treated appropriately. Later, senior officials held a high-level meeting at Nalagarh to chalk out a solution, as villagers vowed to continue their round-the-clock agitation.
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