Agartala, March 4: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar expressed grave concern over the recent dumping of toxic chemical pollutants in the river Hawrah near Kashipur, 8 km east of Agartala. The river forms one of the main water sources for more than 65 per cent of the residents of Agartala town.

“I have already instructed the chief secretary to initiate a process whereby we can have state-of-the-art water purification and testing facility at Agartala,” Sarkar said on the floor of the Assembly.

In a debate over the issue in the Assembly on Friday, Sarkar said employees of Rajuram Shah, proprietor of Shah Paint Industry in Kashipur, had contaminated the river by dumping toxic chemical pollutants in the Hawrah.

As a result, more than 50 villagers, mostly children, developed respiratory problems, and were hospitalised. Water supply had to be suspended for 48 hours, pending testing of the water in a laboratory in Calcutta.

The chief minister assured the House that steps were being taken to create facilities for an alternative supply line from a different source. But the chief minister’s intervention followed the disclosure of unseemly details by leader of the Opposition Ratanlal Nath and CPM legislator Pabitra Kar.

Nath castigated the government for failure to keep an alternative supply line ready and said Rajuram Shah had obtained bail within 24 hours of his arrest.

“He had been running the factory illegally as disclosed by PWD minister Badal Chowdhury and then he endangered the lives of more than 2.25 lakh people but police let him off,” said Ratanlal Nath.

The debate over a notice for discussion took a bizarre turn as Pabitra Kar, who had rushed to the spot shortly after the mishap, said Rajuram Shah had been running the factory illegally for more than four years.

“I don’t know how he obtained a clearance certificate from the state pollution control board to play with the lives of the people,” Kar said, adding that Rajuram Shah had also been arrested earlier on the basis of a complaint lodged by residents of Kashipur. However, he was later released.

Stung by the party MLA’s comment which amounted to an insinuation against the state home ministry held by Manik Sarkar, the chief minister rose to his feet and sought to dispel the impression that the government was dealing with the matter without enough priority.