PCB issues notice to foundry in Vellore bringing relief to residents

VELLORE: The 600-odd residents of Arimuthupatti, a hamlet of Ulli revenue village near Madanur heaved a sigh of relief when their repeated appeals to officialdom to close down a polluting foundry in the village resulted in an inspection of the spot by the Pollution Control Board (PCB) which then issued a notice on Monday, sources said.

Villagers in petitions to the PCB Commissioner, Ulli village panchayat president and the Vellore Collector complained that the smoke emanating from the foundry resulted in health hazards for both humans and livestock.

Local resident D Rajkumar, who spearheaded the agitation against the foundry said in the letter to the panchayat president that foundry smoke resulted in breathlessness, eye irritation and itching of the skin while fine smoke particles which floated in the air and settled on water made even livestock reluctant to drink the water.

“It is not only locals who suffer, even those who passby the foundry are affected and hence neighbouring habitations have also complained of similar problems,” Rajkumar told DT Next.

Another resident M Palanivel, who lives a short distance from the foundry said, “the battle to close the foundry has been going on from 2020 when the foundry which was closed on the orders of the NGT (National Green Tribunal) in 2014 started functioning again without any official permission.”

Matters became serious when affected villagers raised the issue at the agricultural grievances day at both the Vellore Collectorate and the Gudiyattam RDO’s office recently. “Collector Kumaravel Pandian immediately ordered the PCB officials to look into the issue,” Palanivel said.

Subsequently PCB officials visited the foundry and in a letter to Rajkumar dated December 12, 2022 revealed that the foundry closed on December 13, 2014 on the orders of the NGT also had its power disconnected, but that it started functioning from 2020 with restored power. The letter stated that notice had been issued to the unit and that action would be initiated based on its reply.

Vellore district environment engineer D Ravichandran when asked said, “the notice was issued as it is an industrial unit. Only after receipt of reply within a fortnight would action be initiated.”