Over 50 petha-making units sealed in Agra

Over 50 petha-making units in the city have been sealed as they were found to be flouting environmental norms.
The units were sealed yesterday during a surprise check by joint teams of the state pollution control board, district administration and Agra Municipal corporation in the last two days.
The team poured water on the furnaces, sealed the units and destroyed pethas.
The district administration wants these units to shift to Petha Nagri outside the city, a colony developed by the Agra Development Authority.
The units, at Noori Darwaza area, were found to be using coal and polluting the air.
Divisional Commissioner Pradip Bhatnagar has ordered that no unit using coal would be allowed to run in the city.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a PIL in 1996, had ordered that no manufacturing unit should be permitted to use coal in the eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone, spread over 10,040 sq km, to save the Taj Mahal from environmental pollution.
More than 500 units in Agra are engaged in making petha, a soft candy made up of white pumpkin.