VIJAYAWADA: A distillery plant with modern technology will come up at Gandepalli village in Kachikacherla mandal in Krishna district by August, next year. Sentini Bioproducts Private Limited, one of the three distilleries in the State that are at a planning stage, is importing machinery from the US to produce ethanol from grain. The other two units are likely to be located at Kurnool and Medak districts.

The company has acquired 106 acres of land in Gandepalli village and come up with an investment plan of Rs. 75 crores. By using maize, jowar, bajra and broken rice as raw materials, it will produce 125 kiloliters of ethanol per day (125 KLD), besides generating 4 mega watts of electricity a day. Ethanol can be used for brewing liquor and manufacturing some medicines.

"Availability of raw materials and an easy access to transport have attracted the company to set up their unit here," says B. Pandu Ranga Rao, general manager of the Krishna District Industries Centre (DIC). The DIC has played the role of a facilitator.

`Red category'

Since the industry comes under the `red category' industries listed by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in terms of releasing effluents, the APPCB will conduct a public hearing at Kanchikacherla mandal revenue officer's office on June 28.

Residents of the surrounding areas, environment groups and residents of areas that are likely to be affected due to the proposed project, can air their views at the public hearing.

"In the detailed project report, the company has claimed that it will use imported machinery to reduce emission of effluents, besides taking steps for their effective management," says I. Anjaneya Prasad, environmental engineer of the APPCB. He observes that grain-based distillery units release fewer effluents compared to molasses-based units.

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