The Hindu : Front Page : Stone crushers belch misery on villages

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 17, 2006
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Stone crushers belch misery on villages

L. Renganathan

STUMBLING BLOCK: Mounds of stone crusher dust blocking the course of the Noyyal at Kolanthapalayam in Karur district.

KARUR: The huge demonic faces of amulets painted bright at the entrance to the stone crusher units at Kolanthapalayam in Karur district reflect the devastation they have wrought on the locals. People here complain that the pollution caused by the units has severely affected men, cattle and also the river Noyyal.

There are nine major units at Kolanthapalayam, situated between Kodumudi and Kangeyam. Some more units, as also stone quarries, are situated in the nearby Rangasamy Koil and Saliankattupallam areas.

"People here suffer from breathing problems, rashes and burns on the skin, and eye ailments. While Tirupur polluters have devastated the Noyyal denying us clean water, the local stone crushing units have polluted the air and also the river by dumping fine dust on the river bed," says P.K. Balasubramanian, a resident.

The whitish grey, metallic, gleaming quarry dust rising to big mounds have already blocked half the width of the river in the area, while the foamy white sediments that adorn the rocks on the river bed bear testimony to the excessive pollution of the river water. "Previously we raised paddy, groundnut, gingelly and sorghum. I've sown sunflower seeds. But they have sparsely germinated," says N. Duraisamy.

The polluted Noyyal water and crusher unit dust have taken a toll of successive crops in his field.

No official help has been forthcoming to the public. Official apathy is best exemplified by a stone quarry hardly 700 metres off a newly constructed bridge across the Noyyal at the entrance to the village. The impact of the blasts there is felt way beyond the bridge.

Constant and sustained exposure to quarry dust would render humans susceptible to lung and skin problems; in some cases, the situation might lead to incidence of tuberculosis and ulcers, pointed out the Deputy Director (Tuberculosis), P. Ramanathan.

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