Rs 4.5-cr equipment installed to check pollution by sugar mill

There is some good news for the residents of Bhali Anandpur, Baniyani, Dobh, Sunaria and other villages located around the Haryana Cooperative Sugar Mill at Bhali Anandpur village in Rohtak district.

An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) equipment, which is used to check pollution by controlling emissions and removing dust particles, is being installed at the sugar mill at an estimated cost of Rs 4.5 crore.

To be ready this season

• The old electrostatic precipitator (ESP) installed at the mill was proving ineffective after the permissible limit for emissions was revised from 150 mg/nm3 to 80 mg/nm3 in 2022
• The installation of the new state-of-the-art ESP will be completed before the commencement of the upcoming cane-crushing session
• Residents of villages around Rohtak mill have been facing health issues for years

“This will bring much relief to the residents of the adjoining villages who had been suffering due to the raakhi (sugarcane dust) released from the mill for several years,” stated Major (retd) Gayatri Ahlawat, the Managing Director of the sugar mill.

She disclosed that the old ESP installed at the mill was proving ineffective after the permissible limit for emissions was revised from 150 mg/nm3 to 80 mg/nm3 in 2022.

“The mill management had been corresponding with the state authorities for about two years in this regard. After getting the green signal from the state government, the managing committee of the mill headed by Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar decided to get the new ESP installed,” maintained the managing director.

She asserted that the installation of the new state-of-the-art ESP would be completed before the commencement of the upcoming cane-crushing session.

The residents of the nearby villages have welcomed the move to install the advanced pollution-control equipment. “The residents of our village and several nearby villages have been facing much inconvenience and multiple health issues due to the raakhi emitted by the sugar mill for several years. We had lodged numerous complaints with the authorities concerned in this regard,” said Omparkash Khundia, sarpanch of Baniyani village in the district. The installation of the latest equipment was a step in the right direction and would provide much relief to local residents, he added.

Hariom and Manoj, residents of Bhali Anandpur village, also welcomed the move to install the new pollution-control device at the sugar mill.