Alang disposal facility to start next week

After several controversies on dumping solid waste from ship breaking at Alang, the three different pits constructed by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) near the ship breaking yard are ready to take effluents. The dumping of solid waste will start within a week.

"Though the dumping plant was ready from October 2005, the process was not started due to certain reasons. The certificates have been issued to the members and now they have to dump the waste in the newly constructed pits in Alang," said Priyesh Bhatti, CEO if Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure (GEPIL).

GEPIL has been hired by GMB and Gujarat Ship Recycling Association for the services.

The dumping facility, which has been created with the investment of around Rs 100 crore with the fund collected from GMB, will be commissioned next week.

On the other hand, after the announcement of Budget 06, the ship re-cycling association is not expecting the ships to come at Alang. The association believes that they are losing the business because of high duties compared to other countries.

"Its a mere an excuse from the industry. Last week, around 12 fresh ship were brought for breaking to Alang and the industry is unnecessary creating hype," said Bhatti. He also added that the industry will boom in few months as few more ships are expected to come in next month.

Though, the profit margins have gone down, the ship breakers will get ships in large volume. "Out of 173 plots, it is true that only 30 are working but at least 50 plots is expected to work full-swing in short time," said Bhatti.

He further added that 95 per cent of ships are brought to India for breaking and Alang is the perfect place for large vessels as compared to China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

According to Bhatti, the shipyard, which breaks about 350 ships per annum, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons "" environmental pollution and declining occupational health of workers. It will once again break ships at the capacity of at least 300 ships breaking per annum, soon.

Earlier, the waste generated by this yard include asbestos, glasswool, furnace oil, lead in batteries, thermocol sheets etc, was dumped at the Naroda plant in Ahmedabad where the capacity was very less. Now the dumping will be shifted to Alang.

"A few ship breakers had dumped the solid waste somewhere in Bhavnagar, which we will collect and dump it in this pits," said Bhatti.