By Frank Kamuntu
The Environmental Protection Police Unit (EPPU), an enforcement created to support the Ministry of Water and Environment (MoWE) in enforcing environmental laws and regulations on Tuesday arrested three Indian Nationals attached to GM Sugar Uganda Limited, sugar manufacturer located in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, for allegedly environmental degradation and air pollution.
Officials from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), detectives from Uganda Police Force and Local leaders netted the Indians after numerous reports that they were discharging raw affluent into water bodies in Buikwe which pose serious threats to the lives, quality and resilience of all ecosystems and human health.
He said that during an inspection exercise they carried out, they discovered that the factory was discharging raw affluent into wetlands and Lake Victoria, which has caused damage to about of the water sources.
NEMA and Police sources say the suspects will be charged with emptying raw chemicals into a water source which is used for human consumption, which violates NEMA act.
Over the years, residents in Buikwe district have also protested emissions and waste from GM sugar factory. The factory allegedly discharges bagasse, a dry pulpy waste resulting from the extraction of juice from sugar cane, into the environment.
Wastewater discharge contains several harmful substances or chemicals, which may cause adverse environmental impacts such as changes in aquatic habitats, species composition, and decrease in biodiversity.
Industrial wastes have adverse effects on the water quality. High levels of pollutants in water bodies and protected areas cause an increase in biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total suspended solids (TSS).
In Uganda, it is estimated that over 30,000 people die annually due to air pollution-related illnesses while ambient air quality levels in monitored urban centres are estimated at over 5 times the WHO annual guidelines.
