Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Prevent animal transport, Maneka tells Government

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI DEC.20. The State Government should prevent transport of animals to Kerala, Maneka Gandhi, former Union Minister and animal activist, said here today.

Inaugurating a State level inter-collegiate seminar on `Environment for Health, Wealth and Peace,' organised by the Guru Shree Shantivijai Jain College for Women, Ms. Gandhi welcomed the State Government's measure to ban animal sacrifices in temples.

Ms. Gandhi said that every plant and animal played a part in the maintaining the earths' balance. Even a small change in the eco-system would bring to a `slow halt' the earth's functioning.

Citing an example, she said stray dogs in the city did the work of scavengers and helped clean it up. Killing them brought rats out of sewers and onto the streets.

She was critical of the dumping of toxins by the leather industry into the Ganges, an important water source for almost 23 per cent of the population. "The river is in a mess because of pollutants," she said.

Even the recent Rs. 9,000 crore effort to improve the river had not yielded any results, she added. "As soon as it reaches Kanpur, where there are a lot of leather factories, the river dies because of the high concentration of toxins in the water. It is not able to support any form of life," she added.

Environmental degradation cannot be considered as collateral damage of industrial progress, said Palani G. Periasamy, Chairman, PGP Group of companies and educational institutes.

A national development policy should be developed that integrates environmental protection, he added.

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