Shifting Pattancheru to Srikakulam?

North Coastal Districts of AP

The north coastal districts of AP-Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram & Visakhapatnam- in spite of their abundant natural resources and the vast coastline, have been lagging far behind in economic development, mainly because of neglect of medium and minor irrigation projects, for full & optimum utilization of available water resources. The industrial development of the area, based on the local resources, has also not received proper attention, except for the public sector industries concentrated in and around Visakhapatnam.

Even this development had taken place ignoring sensitive environmental issues. The haphazard industrial development and utter lack of control and enforcement of 'Land-Use' plan are mainly responsible for many of the environmental problems of Visakhapatnam area. Today an alarming stage has been reached, where long-term environmental management is a lesser issue than that of safety of life and property for the citizens of Visakhapatnam.

Ecological Disaster around Hyderabad

During Eighties and Nineties of the last century, large number of Bulk Drug and Chemical units were permitted to be set up in and around Hyderabad, in the name of rapid industrialization of backward Medak and Ranga Reddy districts. Due to lack of corporate commitment to the community and as the benefits of non-compliance are more attractive to the industry, irreparable and irreversible damage had been done to the life and livestock of large number villagers, polluting the air, land and water bodies including ground water, in these districts.

The presence of toxic substances beyond the permissible levels, have been detected in ground waters & blood samples taken in Pattancheru, downstream Musi& other industrial areas. These are mainly attributable to toxic metals & organic halogen compounds, which are highly toxic, carcinogenic, bio-accumulative and persistent, contained in the effluents discharged by the bulk drug units and others.

Failure of Regulating Agencies

The Supreme Court in 1998, directed Central and State Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) to take measures to control the pollution in the above industrial areas. But unfortunately, having failed to control the pollution, the PCBs have come up with the proposal of laying a pipeline (18 KM), for discharging untreated or under treated industrial effluents into municipal sewers, ultimately finding their way into Musi River.

This is nothing but shifting the pollution problem from Pattancheru and Jeedimetla, to the far of villages, down stream of Musi, that too cleverly camouflaged in the pipeline. The river is already highly polluted and contaminated, adversely affecting the quality of life of people in about 40 villages down stream, who are deprived of safe drinking water due to pollution of ground and surface water sources.

Shifting of Bulk Drug Units

As the villagers downstream of Musi are agitating against the discharge of effluents through pipelines, there seems to be another attempt to shift the pollution problem of Pattancheru &Industrial areas around Hyderabad, to another backward district of Srikakulam, in the name of its industrial development. The justification given is, that effluents generated by these units, containing predominantly dissolved inorganic salts, which are being discharged into water bodies in and around land locked Hyderabad, can safely be discharged into sea by laying a pipeline deep into sea. The Parwada Pharma City and many Bulk Drug and Chemical units set up around Pydi Bhimavaram are already discharging effluents into Bay of Bengal.

There is no guarantee that persistent and toxic wastes from the bulk drug units, which found their way into surface and ground water sources in and around Hyderabad, are not being discharged into sea, particularly when the detection is going to take much longer and becomes much more difficult. What needs to be remembered is, that the people of North Coastal districts should not be subjected to the misery and hardship, to which the large number of villagers around Pattancheru are exposed due to discharge of effluents by the bulk drug units.

Adverse Impacts on Marine & Coastal Environment

The discharge of toxic effluents into sea, even though they are diluted to some extent, is bound to have an adverse impact on aquatic life in the years to come. as the total pollution load being discharged remains the same.This is going to hamper the fish stock availability, affecting the livelihood of the large fishermen community in the area apart from health hazards for people consuming contaminated fish. It goes against the main objective of Coastal Area Development Regulations, which are aimed at integrated development of coastal areas, ecosystems and resources of the land-sea interface and to improve the quality of life of the communities dependent on coastal resources and helping coastal areas attain sustainable development.

Taking into consideration the fragile nature of coastline and the hinter land of north of Visakhapatnam, highly polluting and water intensive industries such as Bulk Drugs, & Chemicals, Air polluting Coal based Thermal Power Plants, Hazardous Nuclear Power Plants etc. are not to be permitted in this area. Stop shifting of pollution problems of Pattancheru to this area under the garb of development. Let us not create another Pattancheru in North Coastal districts.

Protect "City of Destination"

The industrial development of north coastal districts is to be confined to industries based on locally available minerals, marine and forest produce, agricultural and horticultural products. maintaining ecological balance of Eastern Ghats and Bay of Bengal.Then only we can hope to preserve and maintain Yellow Beach, coral growth and Deep Blue of the Bay of Bengal, aesthetic Eco-Systems of Eastern Ghats and make Visakhapatnam the "CITY OF DESTINATION".