The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Noyyal continues to be polluted

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Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Noyyal continues to be polluted

R. Vimal Kumar

The daily PWD readings show that TDS level is still high

Photo: M. Balaji

unhindered:Effluents create a thick foam in River Noyyal near Koolipalayam Pirivu in Tirupur on Monday. –

Tirupur: Continued discharge of industrial effluents in large quantities into River Noyyal exactly two months after the Madras High court ordered closure of all dyeing units is causing severe damage to the image of Tirupur knitwear cluster.

It was on January 28, the Madras High Court ordered closure of all dyeing units in Tirupur for not complying with the zero liquid discharge norms, on the contempt petitions filed by Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association(NRAPA).

Despite the court order and subsequent ‘official' disconnection of power supply to the dyeing units by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, draining of effluents in Noyyal and other water bodies continued unabatedly.

Following allegations from farming community, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board caught eight dyeing units including some members of Dyers Association for operating the units with alternate power sources violating the court order.

The Board did not show adequate enthusiasm thereafter to continue the raids which invited the wrath of the affected farmers alongside the Noyyal, who alleged that the Board was not sincere in their efforts to combat the pollution despite receiving criticisms from the court.

Even on Monday, thick foamy and coloured effluents were seen along the Noyyal stretch meandering through the city and its outskirts.

“The daily PWD readings on Noyyal water shows that Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) level is still high at 3,400 ppm (parts per million) against the permissible 2,100 ppm, which is a clear indication that effluents still flow into it,” said NRAPA president A.P. Kandasamy.

K. Duraisamy, president, Tirupur Groundwater Protection Committee, feels that the claims of industrialists that the workers were affected and hence, the government should take steps to revive the operations of dyeing units is bogus. “The high level of pollution still in the Noyyal shows that the units are running illegally even now and the business is usual sticking to the tag of Tirupur as ‘sleepless city', he said.

Civil supplies department sources told The Hindu that the claim of industrialists that more than 60,000 migrant textile workers had sought the transfer of ration cards to their native towns after they lost jobs due to closure of dyeing units, was false.

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