Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday ordered the immediate closure of a distillery and ethanol plant in Ferozepur after a months-long agitation against the unit by local villagers.
Alleging that the distillery was polluting groundwater in several villages and causing air pollution, the villagers staged demonstrations in front of the plant for the past six months under the banner of Sanjha Zira Morcha.
In a video message announcing the distillery's closure, Mann said, "For purity of Punjab's water, air and its land, and keeping in view the interests of the people, after consulting legal experts, I announce that orders have been issued to shut down the liquor factory in Zira with immediate effect.
"In future, too, if anyone takes law into one's hands, be it concerning pollution norms, laws related to mining or the Transport department, any law framed by the government, if anyone violates that deliberately or for any vested interests or for economic gain causes harm, no matter how big (powerful) that person may be, will not be spared."
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha had also expressed solidarity with the agitating Ferozepur villagers.
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