Effluents: Locals protest with dead fish, PCB backs firm

RANIPET: Irate farmers of Makanipattu village in Kaveripakkam Panchayat Union in Ranipet district dumped loads of dead fish at the entrance of a private lungi manufacturing firm, claiming that it had polluted a water channel rendering it useless for agriculture, farmers said.

TG Ramakrishna of Kuthambakkam village told DT Next that “the private company surreptitiously lets out used water into the channel leading to the Gangadaranallur from the Kaveripakkam tank which runs near the company. This has resulted in fish in the tank dying and floating on top.”

Though the company has been in operation for only around 4 years, locals fearing police action said, “the issue used to surface off and on regularly. But lack of action by the pollution control board raised their ire resulting in the villagers taking dead fish and dumping it at the company’s entrance and raising slogans against the facility a few days ago.”

Ramakrishna said, “I complained to the pollution control board on January 30 based on which PCB officials took water samples from the affected spot on February 7 as also on February 27, but the results are yet to be made known to us.”

While Kaveripakkam police held talks with the agitating locals and succeeded in sending them away promising action, it is the lack of official action, which perturbs locals. “The water is now not being used neither for agriculture and nor farm animals allowed to drink it,” said Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam youth wing state president R Subash.

“Local farmers are liable to agitate directly as around 230 acres in Pillayarkuppam, Gangadaranallur and Pudur villages in the area rely on this water for farming operations and lack of it could lead to trouble,” a source said.

Ramakrishna said that he planned to meet BJP state president K Annamalai in a couple of days and appraise him of the issue personally.

However, PCB district environmental engineer G Ravichandran when asked, said the “company is not at fault, as it is a zero discharge facility with a treatment plant inside. The fish dying might be due to other issues. Revenue officials might be able to help.”

However, he did not say anything about the two water samples the PCB retrieved from the site.