TENKASI: Farmers of Poolangulam village near Alangulam claimed that the dust generated by a nearby stone crusher unit, functioning round the clock, has directly led to a severe decline in crop yield and quality, resulting in them facing huge losses for the last several years. The farmers also alleged inaction on the part of officials over their repeated petitions on the same.
A variety of crops, including chilli, pumpkin, bottle gourd, brinjal, okra, tomato and shallot, cultivated across more than 100 acres of farmland in the village were badly hit due to the settling of crusher dust, sources said. Farmer R Muniaraja (48) told TNIE that a thin layer of dust envelops the crops, including the leaves, blocking sunlight and clogging the pores. He said, "We have not been able to achieve the expected yield for the last several years.
Agriculture department officials say pollination is affected by dust covering all parts of the crops. I spend around Rs 1 lakh to cultivate one acre of brinjal, Rs 1.5 lakh for chilli and Rs 20,000 for pumpkin. In the last two years, I could not even recover the invested amount." He added that the crusher unit emits more quantity of dust at night than during the day.
Further, Muniaraja alleged that the farmers' repeated petitions to the officials of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), Geology and Mining Department, district administration and Alangulam taluk office had gone in vain. "Our family has been farming on our ancestral land for the last seven decades. The officials' apathy in acting against the violating crusher unit forces us to leave agriculture," he said.
Another farmer, R Arunachalam (65), said, "Within half an hour of entering our farm, we start to experience itching. We suffer from breathing difficulties and poor eyesight due to the dust. We also face groundwater depletion because of the proximity to the stone quarry. The pasture we maintained has turned infertile and we had to sell our cattle," he rued.
TNPCB acknowledges crusher violations
TNPCB district environmental engineer M Nellaimathy said, "We received a petition from activist S Jameen during a grievance redressal meeting. We inspected the crusher unit and observed some violations. We are taking action against the unit and have passed on the information to the Industries Department as well. We have to send written communications to other departments in this regard." TNIE could not reach collector A K Kamal Kishore for a response in this regard.