The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined a dyeing factory in Gazipur Tk 14 lakh for not setting up Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) even 21 months after the factory owner promised to set up the ETP.

The DoE fined the owner of the factory, Ema Cintex Ltd, and also ordered to keep its production shut. It also rebuked its owner Modabber Hossain, said a DoE press release.

The factory has been dumping untreated chemical wastes into the river Turag and polluting the river severely, it added.

The owner has been promising to set up ETP since October 5, 2010.

Pretrial discussions began on Wednesday in a rare public interest lawsuit whose plaintiffs include non-governmental environmental organizations.

The three plaintiffs — Friend of Nature, Chongqing Green Volunteers Union and the Qujing environmental protection bureau — exchanged evidence with Luliang Chemical Industry, the defendant, on Wednesday, said Chang Cheng, a program officer of Friend of Nature.

The exchange and discussion will last at least three days, Chang said.

Hearing a petition against transportation of effluents from industries manufacturing H-acid, the Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to specify particulars about such industrial units and details of sale price of their products.

The MPCB has also been asked to furnish information on whether such industries are located within the limits of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) or not.

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the chief secretary, provincial irrigation and health secretaries and chief of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in a petition against the supply of contaminated and unhygienic water in the city.

PERUMBAVOOR: Offering a ray of hope for the residents of Perumbavoor, the plywood manufacturers in the region have announced the formation of a new committee to keep a tab on the pollution caused by the companies.

The committee will study the cleanliness and hygiene amongst the plywood manufacturing units, said C K Abdul Majeed, general secretary, South Indian Plywood Manufacturers Association.

Patiala: The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has sealed a paper mill for violating pollution control norms. The power connection of the mill has also been disconnected. Highly placed sources said on specific information a PPCB team conducted a raid at the DSG Paper Mills Private Limited, located on the Main Road, Patiala, some 10 days ago. “In view of the violations, the mill was sealed a couple of days back,” said the board authorities.

The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined a dyeing factory and a housing project in Narayanganj and Savar a total of Tk 37 lakh for violating environmental laws.

The dyeing factory Chaiti Composite Ltd in Sonargaon of Narayanganj was fined Tk 22 lakh for polluting the environment and a DoE team fined Ahmed Karim, owner of Nofel Digital City in Savar, Tk 15 for lakh grabbing public land at Senwalia in the upazila, said a press release.

National panel needed to save Ganga: Govt. The Government is working on a mechanism to monitor the discharge of domestic and industrial effluents into the Ganges and punish defaulters and will soon come to the Parliament to share the plan. This information was given to the Lok Sabha on Thursday when, while replying to an emotive debate on the fate of the sacred river, Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan said India needed a "National Commission to Prevent Atrocities against the Ganges".

Millions of Indians are facing a new health risk. Increasing water scarcity is forcing farmers to grow vegetables and fodder using untreated sewage waste water across urban and rural cities.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FAAI) has in the past issued several warnings on pesticide residues and crop contaminants, including aflatoxins, patulin and ochratoxin in Indian fruit and vegetables. These pesticides are known to adversely effect the nervous system and can result in lung damage and cancer

Environmentalists yesterday demanded formulation and implementation of a specific land use policy and more budgetary allocation for environment conservation to tackle the effects of pollution.

“A land use policy is required in every upazila and this could be initiated from an area, like Savar,” said former Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) president Prof Muzaffer Ahmad at a press conference in the capital's Dhaka Reporters Unity.