Local residents and environmental and social activists formed a human chain at Muttam here on Saturday under the aegis of a local action committee to highlight what it calls environmental pollution caused by china clay mining by public sector Kerala Clays and Ceramics Products Ltd. (KCCP)
Among those who formed the human chain was Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran, who inaugurated the programme held to mobilise public support for the campaign against the environmental pollution at Muttam and nearby areas. The programme was organised by the Madayippara Muttamkavile Valappu Thodu Protection Committee. The committee organised the human chain programme to highlight its call for people's right to clean water, air and soil.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Mr. Sudheeran called for suspension of mining activities at Madayippara and for constitution of an expert committee for conducting an environmental impact assessment of the KCCP unit and a related socio-economic study. What the residents of the area, who had been agitating against the mining for the past 20 years, were demanding was an impartial study by a State-level panel of experts, he said.
Committee chairman P.P. Krishnan presided over the function. Among those who formed part of the chain included former Kerala Folklore Akademy chairman Muhammad Ahamed, T.O. Mohanan, M.V. Murali and T. Madhavan.
Mr. Krishnan said the KCCP management had always raised employment issue of the company's workers to counter the people's agitation against pollution. The local residents of Muttam were agitating against the pollution of local water resources caused by the china clay mining, he said, adding that the release of waste water from the mining unit to the local ‘thodu' (drainage channel) was polluting the water resources in the area.
