CM orders BMC to demolish jewellery-making units' chimneys at Bhuleshwar

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

In a big victory for the residents of Bhuleshwar, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered goldsmith units emitting toxic air to move out from Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar. On Monday, after hearing the complaint of the Bhuleshwar Residents Association regarding noxious fumes from the jewellery-making units that are making their life hell, Fadnavis asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to first start demolishing the chimneys of such factories and then give notices asking them to shift all of them.

Speaking to mid-day, Harkishan Garodiya, who had filed complaint to the CM expressed relief after Fadnavis's assurance and said, "He was shocked when I showed him photos of illegal chimneys spread all over in the building." "This area [Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar] is sitting on a live bomb. If any incident like Kamala Mills [fire] or Kalbadevi building collapse occurs in this locality, it will kill hundreds of residents. Every small and congested lane has jewellery making units and many of them are illegal," added Garodiya.

Impacting health
On December 22, 2014, mid-day had carried a detailed report [Breathless in Bhuleshwar] on how the jewellery making and polishing units are impacting the health of thousands of residents of Bhuleshwar and Kalbadevi. The units use concentrated acids for polishing, cleaning and making jewellery.

Since 2001
The association had started the fight against the factories in 2001 after a gas cylinder blast in a refining factory in Phophalwadi killed 24 people. They have approached every possible agency, asking them to move all the jewellery units.

Happened in 2012
This is not the first time the state has ordered moving the industrial units. In 2012, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, had directed the concerned department to take action and shift these factories out of the residential area, but nothing happened. Also, the latest decision was taken following the death of four fire officers, including the chief fire officer, in a 2015 fire and building collapse in Kalbadevi. But there has been no progress from BMC's side to move them either.

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