In a rare gesture of solidarity, Taloja Industries Association has joined the fishing community to protest the release of untreated waste from the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) in Taloja, which is polluting Kasadi river. Honorary president of the association, Satish Shetty, on Wednesday, complained that the CETP is not operating the machines 24×7 for proper treatment of the waste. “Irrespective of water availability, they are trying to save on electricity bill,” he said. Toxic chemical effluents from CETP in Taloja are polluting the Kasadi river, which flows from Taloja to Belapur creek via Kalamboli and Kharghar, said fisherman, Yogesh Pagade, who has been pursuing the issue for a decade. The river, once a rich depository of marine life, with several varieties of crab and fish, has become polluted at several spots. The stretch near police headquarter in Kalamboli, several sectors of Kharghar and the portion flowing between Khaghar and Mansarovar railway stations have been badly affected, said locals. MPCB held a meeting in February and issued notice to the CETP, stating it was not complying to environment norms , said Shetty. “The CETP asked for time till March-end to operate the plant properly but that deadline is now over,” he added. A CETP official said that they “were busy in a meeting,” while another staff said, “MPCB collects weekly samples and the test reports were as per norms.” Pagade said, “The CETP releases untreated chemicals into the river near MIDC pipeline, which is broken. We have been demanding that they should be changed.” He added that if the effluents are treated and there are pipeline leakages, the river will not be affected. He furnished decades worth of records of communications between the police and CETP about the problem. “The fish and crab are dead now,’ he said.
2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.