The Ghaziabad resident welfare association has sought a penalty on multinational Continental Carbon (India) Ltd (CCIL) for forcing residents to inhale toxic gases such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.
The chairman of Ghaziabad RWA, Colonel (Rtd) Tejandra Pal Singh Tyagi, said that the air pollution emitted by CCIL is so intense that the window panes and even surrounding pathways have turned black. “The arteries adjoining CCIL are almost covered with carbon particles,” he said.
He also said that approx 200 labourers could be seen every evening coming out from the factory with deposition of black carbon on their face. We have decided to claim damages from CCIL for the inhabitants living areas around Vijay Nagar and Ghaziabad.
Tyagi, further, said that the firm manufactures a fine carbonaceous powder that is used in tires, plastics, rubber, inkjet toner and cosmetics. "Producing such product creates large amounts of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter of sulfur dioxide which is more than thirty times thinner than the human hair," he said.
PM 2.5 gets accumulated in the lungs thereby reducing the lung capacity by 44 % to the school going children in Delhi. Considering the situation, an immediate action is needed to save the residents, he demanded.
Additional District Magistrate (City) Himanshu Gautam said that the firm has closed its operation temporarily by an executive order. "The request for permanent closure of operation and compensation would be decided at the Government level," he said.