KSPCB orders closure of Gemini Distilleries

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, NOV. 19. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Monday ordered the immediate closure of M/s Gemini Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. at Nanjangud in Mysore District, till further orders, for failing to prevent pollution of air and water in the surrounding areas. The order was pursuant to an inspection of the locality by the Karnataka Lokayukta and a hearing of the grievances of people affected by the distillery, the KSPCB said.

The KSPCB has asked the Chairman of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) to direct the immediate disconnection of power supply to the unit. It has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Mysore District to ensure closure of the distillery and make arrangements for the supply of potable water to nearby villages affected by industrial effluents emanating from the distillery. The Commissioner for Excise has been asked to stop the allocation of molasses to the unit.

The Karnataka Lokayukta, Mr. Justice N. Venkatachala, visited the distillery and the surrounding areas on November 10 along with the KSPCB Chairman, the Deputy Commissioner of Mysore District, and other KSPCB officials following complaints from the affected villagers.

The order of closure appears to be an attempt to save KSPCB from the ire of the Lokayukta which was not happy with the board's inaction despite repeated complaints from the public. The board would submit a report to the Lokayukta on the action taken on the complaints, after which the Lokayukta would decide on the action to be taken against the KSPCB, Lokayukta sources said. The sources also said the Lokayukta would not let anyone to go scot free after polluting the environment, and affecting the lives of people and livestock.

The KSPCB Chairman, Mr. Upendra Tripathi, in his order has noted that the industry failed to comply with the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1976.

Gemini Distilleries, which started operations in 1984, manufactures 30 kilolitres of rectified spirit and generates 450 cubic metres of spent wash a day. The industry has installed an anaerobic digester, anaerobic lagoons, anaerobic up-flow filters, and a two-stage extended aeration system for the treatment of effluents.

The KSPCB observed that the groundwater in a radius of about 500 to 1,000 metres around the distillery had been polluted and had turned brownish, unfit for use. Groundwater in Geekanahally, a village adjacent to the distillery, had been affected by seepage and overflow of effluents, the KSPCB said. Despite repeated directions to avoid groundwater pollution, no concrete step was taken.

Though the distillery management was directed to utilise treated effluent to produce compost with ``pressmud'' way back in 1997, no effective steps had been taken so far, the board observed.

While the management did not take steps to contain the foul smell emanating from discharged effluents, it did not stop effluents from entering nearby agricultural fields either, contravening consent conditions. Continued discharge of effluents by the distillery would further affect the soil, sub-soil and the surface, making the lives of people and livestock in the surrounding villages miserable, the KSPCB said in its order.

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