Villagers Oppose Setting Up Of Textile Processing Cluster Near Tiruchuli

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Villagers Oppose Setting Up Of Textile Processing Cluster Near Tiruchuli

Scores of farmers and villagers from Tamil Nadu’s Thamaraikulam and Karaikulam raised their objection for setting up textile processing cluster in their villages complaining that the bleaching and dyeing units would ruin groundwater and agricultural operation. The villagers handed over a petition to Virudhunagar Collector, J. Meghanath Reddy, claiming that the effluent from the dyeing unit would pollute the irrigation tank and thereby affect cultivation. They recalled that the villagers had conducted a series of protests against the proposal following which the Rs 250 crore project could not be implemented. "Now, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced a padayatra from Tiruchuli to Virudhnagar pressing for implementation of the textile processing cluster later this week," said Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam Virudhunagar district secretary V. Murugan. A resident of Thamaraikulam, V. Ramesh, said that any industrial development should be for betterment of the local people and not at the cost of local environment. "Around 75% of our village is dependent of farming and rearing cattle. The rest of them work in local mill. If the dyeing unit is allowed, it would suck up lakhs of litres of groundwater every day," he charged. Stating that the village has natural spring and that water is used for drinking purpose by the local people, Ramesh said that if the water is over-exploited and the effluent is discharged into the stream here, the livelihood of villagers of Pottalkulam, Thamaraikulam, Isalipatti, Karaikulam would be affected. Even the cattle would be denied of good drinking water, he said. Murugan pointed out that ground water in Tirupur, Coimbatore and Erode districts have been polluted by the dyeing units. "We do not want to face similar pathetic situation in our district," he said.