Dust from the Faizul Hack rice mill at Cane Grove, Mahaica, continues to affect residents in its vicinity but most of them depend on the mill as a means of earning an income.
The mill has been under review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for years as the dust emission problem has been a growing concern to residents living nearby.
While this newspaper could not reach any official at the agency for an update on the body’s findings following visits by its inspectors to the facility as part of a monitoring process, residents of Cane Grove related yesterday that the problem persists but to a lesser extent.
A resident of Coconut Dam related that the facility started milling several weeks ago and according to him, dust continued to escape from the mill and spew onto the homes of several persons in its proximity. He said that residents were concerned about the issue, since they were given assurances by the company that the situation would have been remedied.
He said too that the EPA had been visiting the mill in recent months to inspect the operations but he noted that several of the visits were done when the mill was not in operation as it was the out-of-crop season.
This newspaper had reported on such visits and EPA head, Dr Indarjit Ramdass related at the time that the inspectors were assessing the infrastructural arrangements which were being put in place by the mill to curb the problem.
There has been no milling at the facility over the past two weeks and a resident suggested yesterday that the company should make attempts to reduce and effectively curb the problem at this time.
”Right now it nah got rice so they should be fixing the problem before they start back milling,” he said.
He noted, however, that while the issue is a matter of concern to residents, most residents of the rice farming community depend on the mill as a means of earning an income. He said that over the years, the issue has been portrayed as “more like politics but we the people in here does depend on the mill….and not we alone plenty, other rice farmers in Region 5.”
The former public sector employee said that the management of the rice mill has been helping rice farmers with small loans and other forms of assistance which he noted is good for the industry. He said that fuel and fertilizer were among the commodities which residents are provided via arrangements with the mill.
Since March 31 this year, the company has been granted extensions to remedy the dust pollution issue. Stabroek News has since made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain a comment from the factory.
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.
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.
