Taking note of the health hazards from stone and granite crushing units, L. Narayanaswamy, judge, High Court of Karnataka and Chairman of the High Court Legal Services Committee, said the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board should book cases under Section 304 part 2 of the IPC.
At the Belagavi divisional-level Lok Adalat here on Saturday, Justice Narayanaswamy, while interacting with district authorities of Bagalkote, said the fine granite dust was causing health problems and risking the lives of people living in the adjoining areas of such units. As many as 215 cases of pulmonary diseases (Tuberculosis) were reported from an area where granite crushing was going on in Bagalkote.
“These stone/granite crushers were operating to earn profits, but why should any individual lose his or her life due to the pollution caused by these units,” he said, directing the authorities to submit details of whether there was any patient affected with TB due to inhaling granite dust.
DDT
The Judge also took serious note of the residual presence of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) pesticide found in a soil sample in Jumnal village of Vijayapura district recently. It was revealed that out of the 22 samples (17 food and five soil) tested in a Pesticide Residue Analysis Laboratory, one sample from Jumnal showed residual presence of 1.0 mg/kg as against the Maximum Residual Limit of 3.5 mg/kg.
Justice Narayanaswamy and committee member A.N. Yellappa Reddy wanted to know the source of the residue, since DDT was a banned pesticide.
