The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a technical committee to examine complaints of pungent odour in the Manali industrial area.
Following several reports in newspapers and the electronic media about intolerable odour, similar to that of LPG gas in the Tiruvottiyur and Manali areas, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) officials have undertaken several field visits in the area to check the source of the odour.
The Joint Environment Engineer, TNPCB, inspected the area on Wednesday and issued detailed instructions to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd in Manali.
It was felt that a detailed technical examination was necessary to safeguard the health of people in the area. A technical committee has been formed to identify the source and submit a detailed report, an order issued by the Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu said.
The committee members are Gokul, Scientist, ISRO; Sivathanu Pillai, Scientist, ISRO; HD Varalaxmi, Regional Director, Central Pollution Control Board, Chennai; SM Shiva Nagendra, Professor, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras and N Balasubramanian, Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University.
The committee will inspect the area and submit a report to the government by Saturday, the order said.