Neurological, respiratory disorders: Probe reveals impact of Kanpur tanneries

Some of the cardinal recommendations and directions of the NGT see humor sampling successful polluted areas of Kanpur metropolis and agrarian areas, dense metallic investigation of chromium, mercury, and fluoride, betterment successful the authorities infirmary infrastructure to see multi-speciality diagnostic facilities and authorities and preparing an enactment program for peculiar aesculapian assistance installation for victims of dense metallic contamination.

A seat headed by chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava nd including judicial subordinate Arun Kumar Tyagi and adept subordinate Afroz Ahmad passed the January 30 order.

“We person taken enactment of the latest reply of the Secretary, Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of UP dated 21.01.2015, wherever helium has stated that the Medical Health and Family Welfare Department had initiated wellness camps successful the suspected areas, including Rakhi Mandi, Afeem Kothi successful Kanpur Nagar and these camps uncover precocious levels of mercury and chromium successful the humor samples of the residents requiring contiguous aesculapian intervention,” the NGT’s bid said, taking connected grounds the UP wellness department’s findings.

The bid added that akin camps were organised successful Kanpur Dehat, wherever wide wellness issues, including “respiratory ailments, neurological disorders, behavioural changes, and tegument conditions”, were identified. The study besides said that J K Cancer Institute successful Kanpur Nagar lacks in-house facilities for dense metallic testing. “As per this report, wellness camps and surveys had identified precocious levels of chromium vulnerability among residents,” the bid recorded.

Based connected the study of the amicus and NGT’s directions, the UP Government volition besides transportation retired surveys and mapping studies connected sources of chromium, mercury, fluoride, and robust successful the ecosystem, a survey of aged and caller chromium, mercury and ash dump sites. It volition transportation retired a survey of people, cattle, and the nutrient concatenation to cheque the grade of dense metallic contamination to hole remediation plans.

The UP government, based connected the proposition of the amicus, volition prosecute the Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, Central Groundwater Board, Central Pollution Control Board and AIIMS successful the surveys and mapping studies.

Since 2019, NGT has been overseeing the implementation of technological handling and disposal of chromium dumps astatine Rania, Kanpur Dehat, and Rakhi Mandi, Kanpur Nagar, which person existed successful Kanpur since 1976, causing groundwater contamination. In the aforesaid batch of cases, it has besides been monitoring the discharge of concern effluents from the Jajmau tannery cluster.

However, past year, NGT permitted the amicus to undertake a crushed sojourn to measure the concern and study the glaring issues of contamination and nationalist wellness to the Tribunal. This prompted NGT to marque the UP Health Department a enactment to the case.

There are 400 tanneries successful Jajmau, Kanpur, and they are dispersed implicit an country of astir 7.431 sq kilometre country wrong 50 metre to 1.0 km region from the Ganga, arsenic per details submitted to the court. The smallest tannery is 100 sq m country and the largest is 34,500 sq m area.