Application of Pressure and Release (PAR) Model for Assessing

International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 5, May 2014
ISSN: 2319-4421
Application of Pressure and Release (PAR) Model for
Assessing Vulnerability to Industrial Hazards in District
Bathinda (Punjab, India)
Komaljot Singh, Masters in Disaster Management, Department of Geography, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The High Powered Committee on Disaster
Management (2002) set up by Government of India has
defined vulnerability as the extent to which a community,
structure, service, or geographic area is likely to be
damaged by a particular hazard, on account of their
nature, construction and proximity to a disaster prone
area. Aim: The objective of the present research paper is
to document the vulnerability of three villages situated
near big petroleum and fertilizer industries in district
Bathinda (Punjab). Study Area: These villages are Phulo
Khari (situated near HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited
Refinery), Sivian (near National Fertilizers Ltd.) and
Phoos Mandi (near Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
Ltd. Plant). Methods: Data was obtained from both
primary as well as secondary sources. The primary data
was collected through observation method and through
informal interviews with the local people and panchayat
members. Secondary data was obtained from the
concerned village panchayats. The study was framed on
the lines of Pressure and Release (PAR) model developed
by Blaikie et al. (1994). Findings: The residents of these
villages are facing serious health and economic problems
due to air and water pollution caused by these industrial
units. No remedial measures are taken by concerned
authorities to solve this problem.
Keywords
Vulnerability, Industrial hazards, Pressure and Release
Model, Pollution
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of vulnerability originated in 1970’s in the
field of social sciences from the view point of disaster risk.
Vulnerability is the degree of loss to an element or set of
elements from any natural or man-made phenomena. The
concept of vulnerability has been described by different
authors like Susman (1984), Dow (1992), Blaikie et al.
(1994) and Pelling (2003). Vulnerability is the degree to
which different classes of society are differently at risk
[1]. Vulnerability is the differential capacity of groups and
individuals to deal with hazards, based on their positions
within physical and social worlds [2]. Blaikie et al. (1994)
point out that vulnerability refers to the characteristics of a
person or group in terms of their capacity to anticipate,
cope with, resist and recover from impacts of a hazard [3].
Vulnerability is also defined as the exposure to risk and
inability to avoid or absorb potential harm [4]. So it can be
inferred that vulnerability is the community’s capacity to
cope up with the adverse affects of a disaster to prevent
potential damage.
The High Powered Committee on Disaster Management
(2002) set up by Government of India has defined
vulnerability as the extent to which a community,
structure, service, or geographic area is likely to be
damaged by a particular hazard, on account of their nature,
construction and proximity to a disaster prone area [5].
Vulnerability differs from place to place and from hazard
to hazard. It can be categorized into physical, social and
economic vulnerability. Physical vulnerability includes
who and what may be damaged or destroyed by any
natural or manmade hazard and socio-economic
vulnerability is the extent to which a population is affected
by a hazard. The socio-economic conditions of the people
also determine the intensity of the impact.
The High Powered Committee has identified five major
categories of disasters, viz. water and climate related
disasters; geologically related disasters; chemical,
industrial and nuclear related disasters; accident related
disasters and biologically related disasters. Out of these,
industrial disasters are of special importance because
industries are the product of interface between society and
technology and any industrial disaster has the potential to
damage the complex system of physical and human
environment. Accidental disasters in industries are caused
due to negligence, incompetence or sometimes willingly.
The workers of the industries and the population living in
the vicinity of the industry are the most vulnerable
segments of population. One can have a look on the list of
past industrial disasters like Bhopal gas tragedy (1984),
Jaipur oil depot fire (2009) and Vizag fire (2013) which
caused huge damage to local economy and resulted in
massive loss of life and property.
2. AIM AND METHODOLOGY
The objective of the present research is to document the
vulnerability of three villages situated near disaster prone
industries in District Bathinda. In these areas, any
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 5, May 2014
explosion or serious mishap can result in intense loss of
human life, livestock, physical infrastructure and
environment. The paper has been written by obtaining data
from both primary as well as secondary sources. The
primary data was collected through observation method
and through informal interviews with the concerned
officials (Patwari), village sarpanch and local people.
Secondary data was obtained from the concerned village
panchayats. The study was framed on the lines of Pressure
and Release (PAR) model developed by Blaikie et al.
(1994).
ISSN: 2319-4421
close proximity to big petroleum and fertilizer industries
(Fig. 2 and 3). These villages are Phulo Khari (situated
near HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited Refinery), Sivian (near
National Fertilizers Ltd.) and Phoos Mandi (near
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Plant). Phulo Khari
is a village in Talwandi Sabo Tehsil of the district. It is
located 35 km South of district headquarter Bathinda and
11 km from Talwandi Sabo. KalanWali, Maur, Mandi
Dabwali and Bathinda are the nearest cities to Phulo
Khari. The village Sivian is located at a distance of
approximately 15 km from Bathinda city. Its surrounding
villages are Bhokhra, Joga Nand and Nehian Wala.
PhoosMandi is situated in the eastern part of Bathinda
district. The distance of this village from Bathinda city is 7
km. Bathinda, Rampura Phul, Maur and Giddarbaha are
the surrounding cities of Phoos Mandi.The total
population of Phulo Khari, Sivian and Phoos Mandi is
1912, 4200 and 1667 persons respectively. Agriculture is
the main occupation of the residents of all the three
villages.
Fig. 1: Pressure and Release Model - Progression of
Vulnerability to Industrial Hazards in District
Bathinda
The Pressure and Release (PAR) model depicts disaster as
a product of physical exposure and socio-economic
pressure. The model distinguishes between three
components on the social side: root causes, dynamic
pressures and unsafe conditions, and one component on
the natural side, the natural hazards themselves. Principal
root causes include economic, demographic and political
processes, which affect the allocation and distribution of
resources between different groups of people. Dynamic
Pressures translate economic and political processes in
local circumstances. Unsafe conditions are the specific
forms in which vulnerability is expressed in time and
space, such as those induced by the physical environment,
local economy or social relations (Blaikie et al., 1994).
This model has been used to study the progression of
vulnerability to industrial hazards in the three selected
villages (as shown in Fig. 1). [1]
3. STUDY AREA
Fig. 2: Punjab - Location of District Bathinda
4. ROOT CAUSES OF VULNERABILITY
In pressure and release model root causes are the most
distant processes embedded in the concerned social,
economic and political scenario and portray the
distribution of power in an area. The root causes that make
the people of these villages vulnerable are mismanagement
by industries, regulatory gaps and deficiencies on part of
the government, exclusion of locals in decision making
and high reliance of locals on agriculture.
Three vulnerable villages from district Bathinda of Punjab
state have been selected for this research work, due to their
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 5, May 2014
Mismanagement by industries
The three industries considered in this study are HPCLMittal Energy Limited Refinery (situated near village
Phulo Khari), National Fertilizers Limited (near village
Sivian) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
(near village Phoos Mandi). All the three industries are
controlled by big industrial corporations. These industrial
units are totally neglecting the locals and focusing on their
profits. In other words they are responsible for creating a
lot of mismanagement on their part. They are openly
flouting the environment norms and polluting the
surrounding areas. No measures are being taken by the
industries to control or treat the polluted air and water
released by them. Due to this pollution people of the
surrounding villages are facing a lot of problems like
breathing ailments, polluted drinking water, low
agricultural yield etc. Till date no survey has been
conducted by the management authorities of these
industries to assess the detrimental effects of the problems
created by these industries in the surrounding areas.
ISSN: 2319-4421
Exclusion of locals in decision making
Local people living in the vicinity of these industrial units
are totally excluded from the decision making process, no
matter whether those decisions are in favor of the villagers
or against them. The people are aware of the situation but
don’t know how to manage this situation without
participating in the decision making process of the
industries. When the industries were setup in the villages,
at that time also the locals were not consulted at all and
their opinions were not taken into account at all. The big
industrial corporations under question purchased the
requisite amount of land from the locals and the villagers
had no role to play beyond this point. Therefore the local
people were clearly excluded from the important decisions
taken by these industries.
High reliance of locals on agriculture
The population under study is highly reliant on agriculture.
Farming is the main occupation of most of the villagers.
However the environmental conditions have deteriorated
to a large extent due to the pollution caused by the nearby
industries, making agriculture an unviable option for
earning a livelihood. In village Phulo Khari, farmers have
to use polluted water emitted by National Fertilizer Ltd. to
irrigate their fields which is adversely affecting the yield
of crops, thus putting agriculture and the entire local
economy at risk. The villagers have low education and less
technical skills, therefore they do not have any alternate
occupation to bank upon.
5. DYNAMIC PRESSURES
Fig. 3: District Bathinda - Location of Selected Villages
Regulatory gaps and deficiencies on part of government
There are serious regulatory gaps and deficiencies on part
of government as well. No compensation is provided by
the government to the people affected directly or indirectly
by these industries. Government is also neglecting the
pollution created by these industries. According to Punjab
Pollution Control Board (District Bathinda office), the
pollution caused by these industries is within their
stipulated limits. However the ground reality is quite
contrary to the claims made by the concerned government
authorities. The fieldwork done in the study area clearly
shows that the concerned population is severely affected
by the problems created by these industries.
Dynamic pressures work on the underlying root causes to
create unsafe conditions. In the study area the dynamic
pressures leading to vulnerability are lack of basic services
like water, sanitation, health services, educational
opportunities, local investment, micro-financing and
proper training. These are the basic needs of a community
which must be fulfilled to make the people strong enough
to withstand any type of disaster. These villages are
suffering from the problem of polluted underground water,
and inadequate supply of good quality drinking water. The
villagers irrigate their fields with the waste water released
by these industries. The roads and drains of the villages
are unmetalled and unlined which result in the problem of
water logging, making the local population vulnerable to
water-borne diseases. Village ponds are running out of
capacity. There is no provision of garbage collection in the
villages. People dump their waste in the open areas, which
act as hatching grounds for several vector-borne diseases.
The villagers are suffering from respiratory and skin
diseases due to the air pollution caused by the industries.
There are no proper medical services in these villages. For
example there is no health center in village Phulo Khari.
No medical camps have been organized in these villages.
Till date no compensation has been granted to the affected
people. There is also lack of good quality educational
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 5, May 2014
ISSN: 2319-4421
institutions in the villages, which if available, serve as one
of the main tools for strengthening any community. Local
investment and micro-finance are also missing in these
villages which render the people more vulnerable. Proper
training must be provided by the government or the
industrial authorities to make this community strong
enough to cope with the adverse affects of the hazards
created by these industries.
the village caused due to the inefficiency of the drainage
system to properly dispose off the waste water generated
by the village households. The problem is aggravated
when the waste water released by the fertilizer plant
reaches the village. The waste water ponds in all the three
villages are running out of capacity and the water
treatment system installed at these sites by the public
authorities are unable to manage the scenario.
6. UNSAFE CONDITIONS LEADING TO
VULNERABILITY
B. Economic Vulnerability
Employment sectors at risk
The mainstay of economy in the three selected villages is
agriculture. A major chunk of population of these villages
is employed in agricultural sector. In the village Phulo
Khari the farmers use untreated waste water released by
the oil refinery for irrigating their fields, but this water is
not good for the crops. Other sources of irrigation are tube
wells and canals. The yield of crops is quite low. The
farmers are unable to fulfill even their own domestic food
requirements. Only 2% of the people are working in other
occupations. Similarly in village Sivian the crop fields are
adversely affected by high level of air pollution caused by
the fertilizer plant. This shows that agriculture, which is a
major source of occupation for these villages, is at risk due
to the problems created by the nearby industrial units. The
people of these villages are less educated and thus have
limited options of employment in other sectors of
economy. Therefore the proximity of these villages to the
industrial units is proving a bane for the local economy.
A. Physical Vulnerability
Dangerous locations of villages near industries
All the three villages are situated in close proximity to big
industrial units. Village Phulo Khari and Phoos Mandi,
which are situated near oil refinery and depot, face the
serious threat of an impending disaster, if any mishap
takes place in these industrial units. Disasters like fire
outbreak or explosion can cause massive destruction in the
surrounding areas. Both the HMEL refinery and HPCL oil
depot are interconnected through an approximately 35 km
long pipeline, which supplies oil from the refinery to the
depot. If by some chance this pipeline link is damaged due
to some unforeseen circumstances like blast, terrorist
attack, arson or sabotage the results can prove immensely
disastrous for both the industrial units as well as the
nearby villages. Moreover the HPCL oil depot situated
near Phoos Mandi is connected to other parts of India
through a special railway link route. The trains transport
petroleum in large oil tankers. There is a lot of oil spillage
during the filling and emptying of these tankers. In
addition to this there is also alleged theft of oil from these
oil tankers, which also result in serious incidents of oil
spills. Even if any small accidental fire takes place at this
location, there are full chances that the fire can spread
rapidly in the surrounding areas of village Phoos Mandi,
which can result in massive disaster. The village Sivian is
situated close to National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) plant.
This industrial unit is causing serious problem of air and
water pollution in the village and other surrounding areas.
The village is facing a huge problem in managing the
waste water released by the industry. To make the
situation worse the winds blowing in the direction of the
village bring in concentrated draughts of air pollutants,
which make breathing difficult for the village residents.
Unsafe infrastructure in villages
The public infrastructure in these villages is quite unsafe
in terms of their physical strength. For instance, the playway centre (anganwadi) in village Phulo Khari is housed
in a fragile building. The roof of the building is unstable
and has several cracks in it. In case of any explosion or
blast in the nearby HMEL refinery, the building can easily
collapse which may result in serious casualties. Similarly
the roads in Sivian village are unmetalled and the drains
are unlined. There is serious problem of water logging in
Low income level
The level of income of the residents of these villages is
quite low. For example in the selected village Sivian the
economic condition of the villagers is not very good.
There are 35 BPL card holders and 150 blue card holders.
200 families are working in the MGNREGA scheme. The
remunerations derived from agriculture are insufficient for
the residents because agriculture is increasingly becoming
an unviable means of livelihood. The people are unable to
enjoy a good quality of life due to their low financial
status, thus increasing their vulnerability to any kind of
disaster.
C. Social Vulnerability
The problem of low education
The residents of these villages are not highly educated. In
village Phulo Khari 25% of the residents are totally
illiterate. There is only one elementary school in the
village and even the school building is not in good
condition. There is no English medium school in the
nearby areas. The students have to travel long distances
for their higher education. This is a major discouraging
factor, which has resulted in low level of education among
the residents. As a result the people are mostly engaged in
primary occupations, which do not require any special
skills or technical training. The low level of education
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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR)
Volume 3, No. 5, May 2014
reflects that the people of this area are less empowered and
hence more vulnerable to any sort of disaster.
Poor health conditions
The people of Phulo Khari village are facing many
problems due to the nearby situated oil refinery. The foul
smell emitting from the refinery has given rise to
respiratory diseases among the villagers. Many persons
have developed asthma and skin problems. The HMEL
plant is increasing the problems of water, air and soil
pollution. Not only human beings, but the livestock is also
getting affected. Many deaths have been reported in the
village due to respiratory problems. Over the past few
years several infants have died due to skin diseases and
allergies. Till date the government or the HMEL plant
authorities have provided no compensation to the
concerned families. In village Sivian the water-logged
drains and streets as well as the huge ponds of untreated
waste water act as breeding grounds for various types of
vectors (like mosquitoes and house flies), creating
favorable conditions for occasional outburst of vectorborne diseases like malaria during the rainy season. There
is no facility of pure drinking water in the village. The air
pollution caused by the nearby fertilizer plant has also
given rise to breathing problems to the villagers.
Lack of public amenities
The village of Phulo Khari is not having any health centre.
The nearby hospital is at Rama Mandi, which is about 5
km away. There are nearly 10 cancer patients in the
village. Government has not organized any medical camps
for the people of villages. There is only one RO water
purifying system but it is not working and the villagers use
well water or private tank for drinking purposes. Private
tank is very costly and it is not possible for everybody to
arrange a private tank of clean water to fulfill the drinking
needs of their family. There is also lack of good
educational institutions in all the three villages. The streets
and lanes are unmetalled. The drains are not brick-lined
and are uncovered. There is also serious deficiency of
proper means of public transport. In village Phulo Khari
there is only one daily private bus service, which again has
irregular timings. There is only one ration depot in the
village. But the depot has received no supply of ration for
the last two months. The houses in the village are attached
to one another, with no open spaces in-between. There is
no sewerage system. There are four waste water ponds in
the village and all of them are in unhygienic condition.
ISSN: 2319-4421
preparedness of the concerned population in order to
mitigate the effects of any disaster occurring in the nearbysituated industries.
7. CONCLUSION
The villages under study are facing serious health and
economic problems due to their close proximity to these
industrial units. No remedial measures have been taken by
the concerned authorities to solve this problem. The root
causes that make the people of these villages vulnerable
are faulty management practices of industries, regulatory
gaps and deficiencies on part of the government and
exclusion of locals in decision-making. The dynamic
pressures like lack of pure drinking water, sanitation,
health services, education opportunities, social investment,
local investment, micro financing and proper training are
increasing the vulnerability of the villagers and making
their living conditions unsafe. The low income and low
literacy rate of the residents of these villages make them
more vulnerable. The local government should provide
them proper medical services too. The vulnerable people
of these villages must be trained through campaigns and
mock-drills to prepare them to face any kind of disaster
and to reduce their vulnerability to industrial hazards.
REFERENCES
[1] P. Susman, P. O’Keefe, and B. Wisner, “Global
Disasters: A Radiical Interpretation,” In Hewitt, K.,
editor, Interpretations of Calamity, Boston, MA:
Allen & Unwin, 1984, pp. 264-283.
[2] K. Dow, “Exploring Differences in Our Common
Future(s): The Meaning of Vulnerability to Global
Environment Change,” Geoforum, vol. 23, pp. 417436, 1992.
[3] P. Blaikie, Y. Cannon, I. Davis and B. Wisner, “At
Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and
Disasters,” Routledge: London, 1994
[4] M. Pelling, “The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural
Disasters and Social Resilience,” Earthscan
Publications, London, 2003.
[5] High
Powered
Committee
on
Disaster
Management, Report. Ministry of Agriculture;
Government of India, 2001.
D. Lack of disaster preparedness
The people of the three selected villages are aware of all
the problems arising out of these industrial units, however
they are not at all prepared to face any sort of impending
industrial disaster. It is their low level of education and
poor economic status, which is the prime reason of their
low level of preparedness. Moreover, the local government
has taken no measures to increase the level of
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