Orchardists say the move will ruin apple economy Residents, mainly apple and vegetable growers in the Chopal-Nerwa-Tharoach apple belt, are against the proposed move to set up a 1-million tonne capacity cement plant near Nerwa here. They plead that the plant will ruin the apple and vegetable economy and spell doom for dense deodar jungle and Churdhar wildlife sanctuary in the scenic Chopal valley. LR Chauhan, a retired administrative officer, who has an apple orchard in Chopal, said: “It will be an ecological disaster and will ruin the apple economy. We will oppose the cement plant tooth and nail.” Residents said the government had proposed a second cement plant to be set up by India Cements Limited near Gumma against which they had now formed an anti-cement plant sangharsh samiti. Chopal has dense deodar jungles and is home to the Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a pilgrimage centre for devotees of Shirgul and Bijjat Maharaj devta, the protestors said. “A cement factory in such an area is highly undesirable and we will request Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to review this decision and remove the plant,” they added. They said the two cement plants, that are just 20 km apart, would be disastrous for the ecology. The cement plant at Gumma, for which the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Reliance, lies close to Nerwa. This would definitely affect a large area, the residents said. From Kaidi, Piuntra and Thekra to Bharanu, Kiri, Shaak and Tharoach, the lower Shavli valley has also emerged as a new fruit and vegetable basket in Chopal. The Shilgrahan, Shantha, Dewat, Dhareuli, Khagna, Bodhna, Shilikain, Pabaas, Maraog, Bamta, Hambal and other areas have fruit orchards. Their protest is justified as nano-dust particles that release from the chimneys and mining site of the cement plant deposit on crops and grass impairing the photosynthesis process. “The fine particles cause skin and eyes allergies and can be cancerous in the long run,” said Jagdish Thakur, an orchardist citing various studies on the ill effects of cement plants as witnessed in the Barmana cement plant areas. Dr Mohan S Rathaur, a retired history professor, who lives near the proposed cement plant site in Bharanu, said: “The government’s plea that the cement plant will give employment is unacceptable, as it will wreak irreversible havoc to the area’s pollution-free ecology. It will be a disaster for the apple and vegetable economy and will benefit the mining mafias and truckers.” On the other hand, officials in the Industries Department said the company had done its investigation and would prepare a detailed project report to move its case with the government and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to get an approval. They said it would also address people’s grievances.