Biomedical waste treatment plant leaves locals speechless

After the biomedical waste treatment plant in Sewree was closed down in 2003 amid complaints of pollution in the nearby areas, the one at Deonar has run afoul of residents, who complain the pollutants and allergens being emitted by the plant is causing a wide range of illness. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MCPB), however, maintains the smoke from the chimneys is nothing more than ‘steam’.

Among the disgruntled locals is 68-year-old Rukmini Rajgopalan, who had to undergo two months of rigorous speech therapy to regain her voice, which her ENT specialist said was caused by the pollutants in the air. “She is still sensitive to the pollutants and uses a surgical mask while going out,” said a family member.

There are many more like Rajgopalan complaining of speech loss and breathlessness in Chembur and Deonar. “We had gathered 1,000 signatures from Chembur residents opposing the plant, but our request was not heeded to by the civic body,” said Kala Suresh, a Deonar resident. “We get a peculiar smell. It has become worse in the winter,” said Uma Ramchandran, a resident of Prem Jyot Complex in Chembur.

Rajkumar Sharma, a Chembur resident, said, “The civic body and
the pollution control board have flouted guidelines, as a biomedical waste treatment cannot be set up in a thickly populated area. The smoke from the chimney is not being monitored,” he said.

BB Vade, regional officer (Mumbai), MPCB, refuted the claim. “We
monitor the smoke twice a month. The incinerators are fitted with scrubbers, and what is emitted from the chimneys is steam. The scrubbers control the air pollution,” Vade said. The stench could be coming from storage of biomedical waste in the area, he added. “This is the only facility in Mumbai, and if biomedical waste is not lifted from hospitals, it will cause even more problems.”