Surat:
Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has issued closure notice for unit 2 of Kribhco's urea manufacturing plant in Haziara industrial area of Surat for violation of pollution norms.
The notice was issued yesterday by GPCB (Surat) Regional Officer A G Patel after an inquiry revealed that 14 buffaloes had died in Kribhco's campus, following consumption of contaminated water.
"We have issued closure notice for unit 2 of the urea plant of Kribhco under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, for violation of pollution norms," Patel told PTI.
"The ammoniacal nitrogen found in the discharge from the unit 2 was well above the prescribed limits," he said, adding the farmers cooperative has been asked to comply with the environment norms with in 15 days of the notice.
According to Patel, 14 buffaloes had died on June 15 after drinking contaminated water on the Kribhco campus. The company officials buried the corpses in the campus without informing the GPCB.
Only after a police complaint was filed that the matter came to light and a probe was ordered, he said.
"We visited the Kribhco campus, exhumed the bodies of the animal and sent them for post-mortem and conducted forensic tests. Also, samples of water and discharge from the urea plant were taken and analysed."
It was found that the ammoniacal nitrogen level in the discharge from the manufacturing unit was very high, he said.
Patel further said if Kribhco fails to comply with its notification, the unit's electrical supply could be cut and further action could be taken.
Ammoniacal nitrogen is a measure for the amount of ammonia, a toxic pollutant, often found in waste discharged from industrial units. Its measure can also be used as a scale to establish purity of water in natural bodies such as lakes and reservoirs.