More than 150 residents staged a protest at the Ellanahalli bus stand against the Needle Industries Private Limited on Monday, alleging that an acid cooling tower was polluting the air at Attukollai in Ellanahalli, and was leading to serious health problems among its residents.
The protesters, including women and children, alleged that the tower was emitting obnoxious acid trails which settled on cars and vehicles.
It causes noise throughout the night and is also affecting the health and well-being of the residents there.
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J. Haldorai, the Nilgiris district secretary of the CITU, alleged that the tower was causing serious health issues for residents in Attukollai, including liver and kidney diseases as well as cancer.
They demanded that the cooling tower be moved to another location.
“There is a meeting at the Coonoor taluk office on November 2. If the demands of the residents are not fulfilled, then we will stage more protests,” he said.
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On Monday, another group of people claiming to be from Ellanahalli, wearing Needle Industries shirts, submitted a petition to the District Collector, stating that they had lived for many decades near the factory without any negative effects.
Talks
They claimed that some persons with ulterior motives were protesting against the factory. They urged the Collector to arrange for talks and to ensure that the “goodwill” between people and the factory continued.