Sugarmills fined Rs 50 lakh each for JE

Allahabad, July 18 (UNI) Holding the sugarmills in eastern Uttar Pradesh as partly responsible for health hazards and death of children due to the killer Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Allahabad High Court today fined these units Rs 50 lakh each.

The court held the state government, UP Pollution Control Board and eight sugarmills responsible for the spread of JE.

These units will deposit Rs 50 lakh each, with the Director General, UP Medical Health Services, the court noted.

The order was passed on a writ petition filed by R K Srivastava of Varanasi.

Justice S Ambwani quoted more than 25,000 children had died since 1978 due to JE. Almost 1,042 and 476 JE deaths were reported in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

The HC expressed its displeasure over Uttar Pradesh government for not taking steps to check JE in the eastern UP region.

The court said the state government had neither accepted the advice of the experts called from all over India, nor was prepared to take the situation seriosuly.

The court had fixed July 23 for further orders.

The court observed that eight sugarmills situated in eastern UP discharging effluents in the tunnels, canals and fields were making them breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

UNI