Two organisations in nearby Tirupur are set to field a combined more than 3,000 candidates in two constituencies in the region in the forthcoming April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls, as a mark of protest against the closure of the more than 700 dyeing and bleaching units in the region.
The newly formed Tirupur Industrial Protection Committee has decided to field 1,000 candidates in Tirupur North constituency, to draw the attention of both the Central and State governments to the “indifference” they have shown towards pollution in the region, said Committee President R Annadurai.
Referring to the High Court ruling on Jan 28 ordering the closure of all the 720 dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur for causing pollution despite its earlier directives by continued discharge of effluents into Noyyal River, Mr. Annadurai said the closure had resulted in “loss worth crores”, besides rendering several jobless.
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Despite the crisis however, both the governments had failed to take any action to solve the issue and the “only way to attract the attention of the political parties is by resorting to such measures”, he said.
Meanwhile, Chennai-based Voters Voice Forum (VVF) also decided to field 1,000 candidates in both Tirupur North and South assembly constituencies to protest against the alleged “continued negligence” to solve the pollution problem, which they said affected lakhs of workers.
The purpose of asking a large number of persons to file nominations was to put the administration in a fix, as it would have to arrange a large number of Electronic Voting Machines, because one ballot unit could hold only 16 names, VVF sources said.
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However, the District Election Department officials said they could resort to use of conventional ballot papers, if the number of candidates exceeded 64, which would be obtained by connecting four ballot units.