The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has confirmed that ambient air quality surrounding the water treatment plant in Godhni has returned to safe, permissible limits. Continuous monitoring by environmental officials detected no hazardous gas in the atmosphere following a major chlorine leak earlier this week.
Air Quality Recovery & MPCB Safety Measures
AQI Normalization: Air Quality Index (AQI) levels dropped below 50 on Wednesday, returning to the ‘good’ range. On the night of the leak, the AQI had spiked past 70, placing the area in the ‘moderate’ category.
Daily Inspections: MPCB Regional Officer Hema Deshpande confirmed that teams are conducting daily site checks around the plant and neighboring sectors to ensure safety.
New Directives: The MPCB recommended installing automatic chlorine sensors for early leak detection, alongside continuous water sprinkling to suppress residual gas particles.
Incident Background & Resident Concerns The leak occurred shortly after midnight on Monday from a 900-kg chlorine cylinder at the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran-operated plant, resulting in at least 56 hospitalizations.
The incident left visible environmental impacts, with local vegetation wilting and yellowing, outdoor household items deteriorating, and a pungent odor lingering indoors. In response, Godhni residents are demanding stricter safety protocols, calling on authorities to replace high-risk liquid chlorine cylinders with safer chlorine powder, and raising concerns over maintenance standards by the facility’s managing contractor.
Originally situated on a hill near Nag Mandir, the treatment plant was relocated to its current site years ago following public pushback. However, rapid residential growth around the new location has renewed community fears regarding industrial safety hazards in urban neighborhoods. Stay tuned to know more about it and others only with us and if you have anything to share do comment below and share your thoughts.
