MADURAI: Villagers at Poikaikaraipatti have opposed the Panchayat president’s move to pass a resolution granting a clean chit to Abilash Chemicals, a factory at Naikkanpatti alleged to have polluted ground water by discharging its effluents.
The villagers alleged that the Panchayat president, A Harichandran, had passed the resolution without their consent. However, the president denied the allegations and defended Abilash chemicals saying that the factory did not pollute ground water and villagers were suffering from health issues due to some other unknown reason.
Abilash chemicals been closed and electricity disconnected for discharging chemical effluents in its premises on November 2013. In December 2013, the factory got orders to run it for another six months as it had disposed off the chemical wastes to Common Hazardous Waste Disposal facility at Gummidipoondy in Chennai.
As the Panchayat resolution would facilitate the company to run its unit perpetually, the residents registered their protest in the village Grama Sabha conducted.