The Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) will soon pronounce on the Cane Grove Rice Mill, at Mahaica, as it nears completion on a monitoring exercise of the company’s operations after complaints about dust emissions.
The Faizul Hack Rice Mill has been under the microscope of the EPA for years and sources within the agency told Stabroek News on Tuesday that it would soon present its findings.
This newspaper was told that the matter has been discussed extensively by the agency over the past several weeks, since the dust emission problem has been a growing concern to residents living in proximity to the mill. Reports are that a decision will be made as regards the operation.
Executive Director of the EPA Dr Indarjit Ramdass told Stabroek News that inspectors of the agency are currently completing a report into findings the team made during visits to the Mahaica facility. He said that the company was still implementing measures to curb the dust problem and while he could not specify a time period, he noted that the EPA has granted the company time to remedy the dust emission problems associated with the factory.
Since March 31, the company has been granted extensions to remedy the situation. Late last month, the company was granted two weeks to fix the dust problem.
Stabroek News has made several unsuccessful attempts in recent weeks to obtain a comment from the factory. On Tuesday, a representative of the facility noted that the relevant persons were unavailable.
Since paddy is not being dried at the rice mill, as it is currently the out-of-crop season for rice, the company’s operations have been scaled down until September.
A resident of Cane Grove told this newspaper that the sections of the community which are affected by the problem are “waiting to see what will happen.”
The woman, who is especially affected by the dust since she is asthmatic, said that the residents were informed that the company has installed additional sprinklers and bins in addition to the existing ones to trap the dust from escaping from the facility.
The issue had become politically charged as Cane Grove is seen as a PPP/C stronghold.
However, residents who had complained about the pollution had enlisted the help of the AFC in May last year after complaining that the PPP/C had not done anything about their problems over the years.
While Cane Grove residents focused on the emissions from the mill during the ministerial visit, the Strathavon residents shared concerns about the disposal of paddy husks by the miller. The company was accused of illegally disposing of and burning paddy waste on nearby land in proximity to persons’ homes.
Residents last month told this newspaper that the authorities appeared to have disregarded their concerns.
A resident of Coconut Dam, an area at the rear of the factory which feels the brunt of the dust pollution, stated that the issue has created divisions in the community as the more wealthy residents are against the factory being closed while others have been harping on the management of the mill to take measures to solve the problem.
