subject: Is Water Pollution our Innovation or Fate? [print this page] Is Water Pollution our Innovation or Fate?
The ship breaking industry in Gujarat is a large scale one. Gujarat, having the longest coastline, ship breaking takes place in the entire belt. In Gujarat, a small town called Alang is famous for the same. This produces almost 2 million of the steel scrap. The ship breaking causes various hazards to the marine environment as a whole. It releases large number of pollutants. In the last stage when the sand is removed from the oil, all the remains are thrown into the sea.
When the environmental laws are getting more stringent and when there is already so much of damage caused to the environment; we cannot rectify the damage caused, but at least we can take initiative to stop further destruction.
The premier National Agency, NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has said that the ship breaking industry has not only affected the local environment but also the health of workers engaged in the process. Some major health fall outs include breathing difficulties, lungs cancer (due to asbestos dust), anemia, nervous system (due to lead), eczema and respiratory diseases (due to chromium), lung and scrotum cancer besides cell damage. The shipbreaking industry, involving one of the most hazardous occupations, has picked up momentum in recent years in few Asian countries like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India and Turkey, mainly due to availability of affordable labor cost.
On the other hand, when the Indian holy river Ganga has been the target of the sheer pollution happening; seven IITs have jumped into creating a waste management plan for cleansing the river basin. When on this end, efforts are been made, how can we pollute the water for the sake of ship breaking. No industry can flourish at the cost of environment. When we say sustainable development, it would mean generating profits without putting the environment at danger.
On the yet other hand, Billions of dollars; mainly from China; are being poured into a fast-growing global system of rewards for people who protect endangered water resources. But surprisingly, there are fishes found dead in the Godavari near Nashik in Maharashtra. According to the Nashik Municipal Corporation, the fishes died due to the pollution in the river by chemicals.
For how long we would only be aware about the latest news? For how long would we wait for further negotiations and debates? For how long would we wait for others to take a required action? If u wish to work for this cause of environment, then it's better to start now. As a responsible citizen, take some actions; so that such kind pollution stops taking place. The people who are in the mainstream should even be more vigilant about the environmental threats caused. Its an urgent need to stop further destruction because we are not the last generation of this planet..
