DHARMAPURI: Pappireddipatti farmers alleged that a private starch factory has been dumping effluents into the Pinni river and submitted a petition to the district administration urging them to protect the water body. As per the sources, for the last few months, the residents and farmers of Pappireddipatti are involved in a campaign against the private starch factory, alleging that it is polluting the area.
Farmers stated that the level of toxicity in the Pinni river has increased exponentially due to the effluents released by the starch industry and it is affecting nearly five lakh people who rely on the river water for drinking and cultivation.
P Suresh, a member of the Piniaru Padhugapu Iyakkam, said, “The factory has been dumping the wastewater generated in the mill into the Pini river and degraded over 70 acres of land in the Pappireddipatti area. Nearly six water bodies which rely on water from the Pinni river were also affected. This is caused due to the poor drainage filtration system used by the factory.”
S Dhandapani, a farmer from Pappireddipatti said, “The Amalapuram lake, Periya Eri, Vannan lake, Chinnaeri, and Kaniyamankuttai lake are some of the water bodies which have been affected by the pollution in Pinni river. The polluted water has affected both humans and livestock. If anyone comes in contact with the water, they will get rashes.”“We do not want the factory to be shut down, but the release of effluents into the Pinni river needs to be stopped,” he added.
Officials from the Pollution Control Board said, “The factory has not conducted a wastewater audit and has improper rainwater drainage. Further, the factory has not cleared the Seemai Karuvelam and planted native variety trees. We have found some problems like this and have asked them to fix the issues. However, as far as effluents are concerned, there is no such problem as the factory has not been functioning for some time.”