15 KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, 11 DIE

Despite ample laws and implementation structures, industries continue to release untreated effluents into the environment. What can be done to make the defaulters follow the law?

- ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY, SEEMA PRASAD, SHREYA VERMA

EARLY MORNING on April 30, Giaspura, a nondescript locality on the outskirts of the heavily industrialised district of Ludhiana, Punjab, witnessed a bizarre sequence of events. Gaurav Goyal, a neighbourhood grocery store owner, had barely opened his shop around 7.15 am when he sensed a foul smell. Two minutes later, he fell unconscious. There was a commotion. Neighbours alerted his mother Kamlesh, his brother Saurav and his sister-in-law Preeti, who lived upstairs. Amit Gupta, a guest of the family, was also present. All of them were knocked unconscious as they climbed down the stairs to help Gaurav.

Meanwhile, neighbours Navneet Kumar, Neetu and Navneet’s brother Nitin ran to help. They all fainted on the street. Kavita Devi, whose refreshment shop is across Goyal’s, also sensed the stench. It was unbearable, she recounted, when Down To Earth (DTE) visited the town on May 5. She tied a napkin around her nose and mouth and picked up Saurav Goyal’s eight-month-old son, Yug. Amid the melee, Navneet Kumar’s neighbour Kavilash, a doctor, stepped out to help the victims. He then entered his house to alert his wife and three children. All of them fell unconscious.

Police reached the scene at 7.30-7.45 am and cordoned off the area. The ambulance arrived at 7.45 am. Overall, 15 people in the locality had fainted and were taken to hospitals. Of them, 11 were declared dead on arrival and four survived. Yug, who was orphaned, was sent to his maternal aunt.