The Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum has urged the State government to take measures to restore the ecology which has been damaged by industrial pollution in Vellore and other districts. In a statement to mark World Environment Day, honorary secretary of the forum P S Subrahmanian pointed out that the damage caused by polluting industries in Vellore, Erode, Tiruchy, Dindigul, and Kancheepuram districts have not been reversed despite directions from the Supreme Court of India in response to a writ petition filed by the forum.
The State had also failed to implement various directions of the apex court in this regard, including not allowing polluting industries to be set up near the water bodies. Thousands of acres of farm lands and water sources, including rivers, have been adversely affected by pollution, forcing people to give up farming activities and purchase drinking water.
He said over 28 lakh farmers in the non-delta districts have been seriously affected by industrial pollution, causing heavy crop losses, thus creating an artificial drought condition. Under these circumstances, how did the State government consider these districts as not eligible to receive drought compensation, he questioned.
While most of the people of the State have been forced to depend on packaged drinking water, recent reported incidents revealed that the companies involved in this business supply water which was of poor quality, posing a threat to the health of consumers. The government must therefore address these issues on a war footing, he added.