The Hindu : National : Pollution-affected communities stage rally

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Wednesday, Mar 23, 2005

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National

Pollution-affected communities stage rally

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. Greenpeace activists, along with representatives of pollution-impacted communities from different States, staged a rally here today to protest against the absence of action against the toxic contamination of water resources. The occasion was the World Water Day. The participants called upon the Government to ensure clean drinking water, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

"Our rivers, lakes, groundwater are irreversibly poisoned because of the Government's inability to control and monitor the rapacious chemical industry that continues to release deadly chemical waste and effluents into our water, air and land," said Vinuta Gopal, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace India. "Entire eco-systems and the species dependent on them are under threat. So much so that traces of these toxic chemicals have shown up in breast milk and human blood too," she said. Independent scientists and civil society groups had presented enough instances of toxic chemical pollution and its impact on human health and the environment. "Enough is enough, we want action now," the protesters said.

"Despite 20 years of struggle for justice for Bhopal survivors and in spite of the Supreme Court ordering provision of piped clean drinking water to [the] impacted communities, there has been no change in our situation, because of the lack of political will, and corruption in the highest offices of the State and Central Government.

Clearly this cannot go on," said Rashida Bee, Bhopal activist and Goldman Award winner.

There were others too: The Kodaikanal community, impacted by the mercury poisoning of their pristine hill forests due to the alleged malpractices at Hindustan Lever's thermometer factory; the community living by the river Periyar in Kerala, affected by the havoc caused by the unregulated industries of the Eloor Industrial estate.

And there were people from Patancheru in Andhra Pradesh, where lakes have borne the brunt of chemical poisoning from the Medak Industrial Estate, and the fisherfolk of Orissa, who are trapped between Oswal Chemicals and the poisoned sea-inlets.

The Supreme Court had repeatedly ordered closure of factories across the country for violating pollution control norms, but nothing had changed — the Government was both apathetic to the people's demands and seemingly unable to implement the directives of the highest court of the country, the rallyists alleged.

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