Virudhunagar: A public hearing on setting up an industrial estate for textile processing cluster near Kariyapatti in the district on Wednesday had to be abruptly wound up after environmental activists, farmers’ association members and local youths made vociferous objections to the proposal.
A section of the agitated members attempted to gheroa the officials, including Collector A. Sivagnanam, who chaired the hearing. However, the protestors managed only to lay siege to the vehicle of Revenue Divisional Officer (Aruppukottai) Selvi for a brief while.
After a presentation on the project, with funding by the Central and the State Governments along with investment by 36 garment manufacturers of southern districts made on zero-effluent discharge technology of the bleaching and dying units, several local people and environmental activists from outside made their representations.
Many senior people from Thamaraikulam and Pottalkulam villages complained that they were not informed by the district administration about the public hearing per se.
They said some 15 villages in and around the site would be deprived of their groundwater resource meant for their drinking needs and for rain-fed irrigation.
“The environmental hazard of the textile processing units would not only wipe out the water resources, but also pollute land and air. We have living examples in Tiruppur and Erode industrial estates,” complained environmental activist Mukilan.
Many educated youths deplored the government’s initiative claiming that the people of the entire region, irrespective of their educational qualification, were into farming due to lack of employment opportunities in government sector. The region was ignored for several years even in basic amenities.
When the Collector tried to sum up the issue, a section of the people started shouting that the Collector should not try to convince the people into giving their consent. “It’s not your job. The main purpose here is to hear the people’s view on the project,” they shouted.
As the police tried to remove the agitators, the Collector wound up the session, leading to the melee.
