Govt urged to shift hazardous industrial units from Battal Balian

Advocate Sanjeet Baboria addressing a press conference at Udhampur on Sunday.
Advocate Sanjeet Baboria addressing a press conference at Udhampur on Sunday.

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Dec 12: Social activist and chairman of Jan Sangharsh Sanstha, Advocate Sanjeet Baboria today accused the Government authorities of playing with health and lives of people residing at Battal Balian by allowing hazardous industrial units there.
Addressing a press conference, Sanjeet Baboria claimed that the SICOP/IID Department had acquired 1051 kanal land at Battal Balian in 1986 for setting up a Nuclear Plant there but the State Government installed polluted industries such as Cement and Insecticides units in the area.
“About 50,000 thousand people live in the surrounding area with Government and Private Primary, Middle, High and Higher Secondary Schools but Jammu and Kashmir Government allowed setting up hazardous industrial units in the area thus gifting the local pollution many diseases like asthma, eye and skin diseases,” he alleged.
Mr Baboria recalled that a major fire had broken out on May 28 at Dhanuka Agritech Limited in which thousands of lives were put in danger. He appealed the Government to immediately shift these hazardous units from the area.
Rakesh Khajuria, City President of the Sansth and Advocate Anil Kumar were also present in the press conference.