A day after a police complaint was filed against it for high pollution levels in fresh water ponds and Amravati Creek in Ankleshwar taluka, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on Monday rushed a team of its officials to the area to collect samples of polluted water.

On Sunday, villagers had lodged a police complaint against Gujarat Industrial Development Commission (GIDC) and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), alleging the leakages in the effluent pipeline from Jhagadia industrial units have contaminated water bodies in the area. The matter came to light during a visit by Bharuch SP Raghavendra Vats to Dadhal village on Friday as part of police-public outreach programme. Following complaints about polluted water, Vats sent a police team from Ankleshwar Rural police station to collect samples on Sunday.

“Villagers complained that effluents from the industrial units in Jhagadia district were discharged into the ponds and small tributaries. I asked the villagers to lodge a criminal complaint. If the charges are found true, the organisation or individual responsible for it will be prosecuted,” Vats said.

The police complaint was filed by one Zuber Nanabawa, a Science graduate from Dadhal who runs a small business of supplying industrial salt to the industries. “Being a chemistry graduate, I conducted a litmus paper test on the water in the pond. Most of the ponds and about 18 bore wells have their water contaminated from the leakages. The pH level was much higher than the prescribed norms of the GPCB. I called up GPCB officials to check the samples but nobody listened. When policemen came to our village enquiring about the kind of problems we faced, we told them about the leakages and pollution in general from industrial units. Vats asked police officers from Ankleshwar to take stock of the situation after which the complaint was filed,” said Nanabawa. Ankleshwar Rural police inspector R R Patel said investigations were on. “The samples have been sent to the GPCB and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). The complaint was filed against GIDC and GPCB,” he said.

When contacted, GPCB regional officer J D Kalyani admitted some villagers had called him up. “However, since I have been recently posted to the region, teams could not be immediately sent. We have now sent our teams to collect samples. I have got a report from engineers at GIDC in Jhagadia saying the leakages in the pipelines have been fixed,” he said.

Incidentally, GPCB officials said, an air pollution monitor was also set up at Dadhal village after complaints of severe air pollution emanating from United Phosphorus Limited-owned Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure Limited (BEIL) incinerator.