BHOPAL, July 9: The Barwaha-based (Khargone district) factories of Associated Alcohol and Beverages Ltd. owned by Kedias, and another factory owned by Agarwal Breweries have been sealed after thousands of fish were found floating dead in the Narmada river.Discharge of affluents by the two factories in Mohadiya nullah in Barwaha which connects with the river is cited as the cause.Cases have been registered against the owners of the factory and the premises were sealed on Tuesday.The SDM has fixed July 21 as the date for hearing while bailable warrants have been issued against the two directors of Kedia group Santosh Kedia and H K Bhandari. The most severe result of the pollution was felt in towns of Madaleshwar, Jalud and Indore. Residents of Indore woke up for the second day in succession to yellowish water in taps. It appears the effluents have poisoned the water all along the Narmada to such an extent that even Indore, which has many treatment plants, has been unable to cope with it. Collector, Khargone, C P Arora, informed The Indian Express that he had personally assessed the damage. ``The damage is amazing, the fish have almost completely been wiped out,'' he said. He said that t the factories will remain sealed till the hearing and the outflow of affluents has been curtailed.The MP Pollution Control Board has been completely silent in the matter so far even though it has full knowledge of the implications of the collection of solid waste in factory premises.
