People in Erode town have expressed serious concern over the indiscriminate discharge of untreated effluents from the textile processing and tannery units into the Pichakkaran Pallam Odai, a major water carrying canal in the town.
Thousands of gallons of untreated effluents that are being let into the canal, finally flow into the Cauvery river, causing irreversible damage to the environment.
No action
“The continuous protests from the people in the town did not yield any fruitful results till date. Our pleas to the officials at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to put an end to the discharge of effluents in the channel fell on deaf ears,” R. Chandrasekaran, a senior citizen here alleges. People living close to the canal complain that the foul smell emanating from the effluents has become unbearable these days.
Many children in the area are now suffering from skin-related diseases due to the continuous discharge of effluents in the canal, they point out.
Though residents in the town repeatedly complaining about the increasing levels of pollution, officials in the revenue department and the board rarely conduct checks at the textile processing and tannery units.
Zero-discharge
Meanwhile, owners of the units often claim that they have effluent treatment plants and implement the ‘zero-discharge' system.
But most of the units continue to discharge huge amount of untreated effluent in the canals, residents charge.
Residents have appealed to the district administration to initiate concrete efforts to shut down all industrial units polluting the environment.
Officials should closely monitor the activities of the units and initiate action against the managements of the units that are found to be violating the rules, they demand.
