Residents staging a demonstration in Cuddalore on Wednesday.
CUDDALORE:
Residents of Eachankadu and Kudikadu on Wednesday staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here urging the authorities to shift polluting units elsewhere from SIPCOT Industrial Estate.
They were led by Senthil Kumar, district secretary of Manitha Urimai Padhukappu Maiyam. The protestors said that unmindful of health hazards posed by the polluting units, the officialdom was permitting these units to continue operation. For instance, a drug and chemical company was sealed when a bromine leak a month ago led to hospitalisation of 71 people. It had resumed operation without any assurance to the people that similar incidents would not recur, the protestors alleged.
According to Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board sources, the company had obtained court permission to operate its units except an unauthorised research and development wing, where the leak occurred. The protestors further said that untreated effluents being discharged from chemical, drug and dyeing units in the industrial estate had polluted the environment and soil, besides affecting marine life. They alleged that through enticement of offering jobs, the companies were trying to create a rift among local people and diverting their attention from pollution problem.
