VASCO: A visibly annoyed Power Minister and Mormugao MLA Milind Naik on Friday morning lambasted officials of a coal handling plant handled by a company at Mormugao port, after accusing them of failing to take necessary steps to control the coal dust pollution at Headland Sada.
Pointing to the open stacking of coal dust at the coal handling plant at the port, Naik complained that strong winds were blowing the coal dust into the houses in Sada.
“I will not allow hundreds of my residents at Sada to suffer due to the coal dust pollution. Just because the company provides employment to some locals from Sada, I will not allow thousands of my people to suffer,” Naik reacted angrily.
“Stacking of the coal was never in your plan and was never discussed. Your plant may be Hi-Tech, but the operation is certainly not,” Naik bluntly told Sandeep Jaiswal, the company’s plant operation official.
Naik informed the company officials that most of the coal stacks are not covered by tarpaulin. “I cannot stop someone from carrying out business, but I cannot also allow my people to suffer. I will initiate action against the coal dust pollution created by the company,” warned the minister.
Naik immediately called the Pollution Control Board and informed them about the problems and directed the board to send the official to the site.
One Digvijay Desai, environmental junior engineer of the Pollution Control Board, rushed to the site and informed the minister that he would compile a report and send it to his superiors to initiate necessary action against the company.
Naik was accompanied by Mormugao Deputy Collector Gaurish Shankwalkar, Councillor Shekar Khadapkar and other BJP workers.
