KOCHI: Redemption for 2,500 families of Eloor-Kuzhikandam area, identified as one of the world’s ‘toxic hot spots’ by Green Peace in early 2000s, is so near and yet so far.
Even as a solution was finally in sight with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) approving Rs 26 crore for remediation of the Eloor-Kuzhikandam creek last September, the LDF Government, it seems, is dragging its feet on the issue.
No wonder, the people are resigned to their fate since the cleaning up and rehabilitation of the Eloor-Kuzhikandam creek - first proposed in 2006 - have not yet started, even after more than a decade.
The creek got polluted following discharge of chemical effluents from nearby industrial units. The remediation project envisages to reconstruct the Kuzhikandam canal after excavating the contaminated soil and sediments. It also promises zero industrial discharge, while restoring fresh water in the canal.
“The pollution in the region over the past several decades is well documented. The Regional Pollution Control Board had submitted a report in this regard to the CPCB 10 years ago. The present remediation project is the first-of-its-kind that will be implemented in the region,” said M P Thrideep Kumar, environmental engineer, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Eloor. As per the agreement between the state and the CPCB, the former would bear 60 per cent of the total project expense and the Centre would pay the remaining 40 per cent. While the Centre has already released Rs 10 crore through the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the state government is yet to pay Rs 16 crore of the estimated Rs 26 crore.
“A request for budgetary support from the state government has already been presented in the Assembly. A decision in this regard will be taken soon,” said V K Ebrahim Kunju, the local MLA.
As many as 247 chemical industries, including public sector ones, are currently operational in the Edayar-Eloor belt.
At present, the industrial units - Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), Hindustan Insecticides Ltd (HIL) and Indian Rare Earths Ltd - are functioning in Kuzhikandam. The fourth unit Merchem Ltd had shut down its operations some years ago. The state will also sign an agreement with the polluters to mobilise the required fund.
High toxic content
With the untreated discharges from the industrial units decimating aquatic life and farm lands, life has become a struggle for the people of Eloor.
“Vegetables, fruits and poultry grown here have high levels of pesticide and heavy metal residues. At least one member in every family in the region suffers from eosinophilia. Some have deformities. Fatal illness like cancer has become very common here,” said S Haridas, a resident of Kuzhikandam area.
Greenpeace Study
The study found that the Kuzhikandam canal flowing into Unthithodu canal (which reaches Periyar) contains more than 100 deadly inorganic compounds, including DDT, endosulfan and isomers like hexachlorocyclohexane.
It found that the chances of Eloor inhabitants contracting cancer are 2.85 times higher than those living in similar toxic areas in India
The children in the area face 2.63 times higher risk of malformation
‘Complete rehabilitation’
“Eloor has been scientifically proven to be unfit for human habitation. A permanent solution to the problems being faced by the people here can be achieved only by rehabilitating the people,” said Shibu Manuel, a resident of Kuzhikandam, who has been working for this cause.