BPCL explosion in Mumbai: Issue is industrial pollution, not infrastructure, says Medha Patkar

By Our Representative
Strongly reacting to the recent explosion in Mumbai's BPCL refinery, leading to the injury of 43 persons, social activist Medha Patkar has called it a new assault on the people residing in the polluted area of the Mahul area, where they were shifted following implementation of the Tansa pipeline project.
Thousands of families rehabilitated in Mahul are angry, she said in a statement, adding, the location of the explosion is just 50 feet away from the spot where the displaced poor people have been resettled. The explosion was so strong that glasses in the window panes cracked in the flats of the rehabilitation colony built by the authorities.
Even as this is creating panic among the people, the Mambai High Court heard the case of Mahul citizens. It listened to the plan prepared by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) on the infrastructure needed to overcome such incidents and impact on people's incomes as a result of being rehabilitated on the new site.
However, said Patkar, the issue is direct pollution. Thousands of families have been impacted because of the spread of pollution and release of untreated industrial waste in the open, leading to serious impact on health. How can the Maharashtra government and the State Pollution Control Board remain silent?"

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