Case against Patran sugar mill owned by Venod Sharma

Patiala, Feb 19 (UNI) Police has registered a case against officials of a sugar factory owned by former Haryana minister Venod Sharma in Hariau Kalan, near Patran in this district.

At least 150 acre of wheat crops was reportedly damaged allegedly due to contaminated water overflows from a sugar factory named Piccadilly Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd.

Patran police registered a case against the owner and officials of Piccadilly Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd, on the basis of a complaint from the village panchayat that effluents from the sugar mill had damaged standing wheat crop in several acres of land.

Patran police station in charge Bhag Singh said that a case under sections 269A, 284A, 285 and 427 had been registered on the basis of the complaint and investigations had begun. Police had taken the samples of the damaged crop and sent them for further examination.

Villagers alleged that contaminated water from the factory, stored in the pits without proper measures, spilled over to the fields following incessant rains in the last few days. The liquid had damaged standing wheat crop in several acres of land and standing leguminous crops had also been damaged in some fields behind the sugar mill.

However, when contacted, Mr G J Singh, Vice president of Piccadilly Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd, refused to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, taking a serious note of the effluents from the liquor factory, set up by the Piccadilly sugar mill, damaging crops, the Punjab Pollution Control Board has also started investigations into the matter.

The probe was headed by a senior functionary of the rank of a superintending engineer and punitive action would be taken in case the factory owners were found to be at fault, Board sources said.

However, the company sources claimed that the liquor factory had recently adopted the bio-composting technology for disposal of effluents from the unit and had also obtained a No Objection Certificate from the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

UNI