Serious allegations have been made against Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) located in Golaghat district of Assam . Environmental activist Apurba Ballabh Goswami has alleged that this refinery is discharging harmful waste into the Dhansiri river , a tributary of the Brahmaputra river, endangering the aquatic ecosystem of the river. He wrote a letter to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on April 2 demanding an investigation into the matter. With this letter, he has also attached a report prepared by a private biosciences lab , which contains details of the testing of the sample taken from NRL’s wastewater treatment plant on March 11.
Hazardous elements found in water
The report stated that the water had Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 18.0 mg/l , Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of 142.0 mg/l , and Oil and Grease content of 11.5 mg/l , which are higher than the CPCB standards. According to the CPCB, these limits should be 15.0 mg/l, 125.0 mg/l and 10.0 mg/l , respectively . Goswami warned that these toxic elements could pose a serious threat to the biodiversity of the river and the people living nearby . He said high BOD means there is excessive amount of organic matter in the water , leading to depletion of dissolved oxygen , which could prove fatal for aquatic life.
NRL rejects the allegations
The NRL administration has completely rejected these allegations. A refinery spokesperson said that we do not discharge any waste into the Dhansiri river as it is located 12 km away from the refinery . He said that the wastewater is cleaned in a modern treatment plant and reused in the refinery . Although rainwater is sometimes released through storm water drain , its quality is regularly checked under strict environmental standards . The spokesperson said that after receiving the complaint, storm water samples have been taken and the test results will be out soon.
The refinery administration is ready for investigation
NRL said that it fully complies with environmental protection and pollution control rules and if any investigation is conducted in this matter, they will cooperate fully . The refinery administration says that they are ready to cooperate with any investigating agency and welcome the investigation of CPCB or any other agency . Let us tell you that Numaligarh Refinery, established in 1993 under the Assam Accord (1985), has a refining capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per annum and it is a major oil refinery of North-East India.
