COIMBATORE: People living in Pollachi and surrounding areas complain that vehicles transporting fish from Kerala to Tamil Nadu dispose waste in the open. Since the beginning of this months, four trucks have been detained by public for letting waste water from the fish stock on the road . The public urge authorities to tighten vigil and stop dumping of waste and releasing waste water.
Fish is transported by trucks from Kerala to various parts of Tamil Nadu to poultry farms as chicken feed and food processing units. During transit, fish is packed with ice bars to prevent spoilage and the wastewater accumulate from the ice bars is used to store inside the truck. The truck drivers and assistants discharge the waste water on the road which leaves behind a strong stench and raises the risk of infection.
On September 9, a truck carrying fish from Kozhikode to Thoothukudi was detained by public at Gomangalam when the driver tried to discharge waste on the roadside. Due to the strong stench, locals caught two more trucks carrying fish waste and handed them over to the police on the same day. On September 13, another truck was caught near Pollachi town.
Further, two truck drivers were caught by public near Gomangalam on Monday when they were discharging fish waste on the roadside. The issue was informed to the police and they were investigating.
The truck drivers P Selvam (46) from Andipalayam in Thiruvarur, and C Palanivel (50) from Vadakkuvellur near Cuddalore were arrested and the police registered a case against them under section 279 (fouling water of public spring or reservoir) and 280 (making atmosphere noxious to health) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. The accused were remanded to judicial custody and the trucks were seized, said police.
“Trucks transporting fish usually have a storage unit inside where they should store the waste and discharge them at their own place with proper mechanism. However, they dump the waste on roads while on the move. The discharging channel connected with a rubber tube splits the waste when the truck moves on roads. Nobody will get suspicious if they discharge the waste by this method rather than dumping it in one place,” said Vellai Nataraj, a social activist from Pollachi.
“To protect its natural resources and promote tourism Kerala does not allow dumping of waste in the open. Instead it uses villages on the Tamil Nadu border as a dumping ground. Strict monitoring at police check posts and imposing hefty fines are the solution,” he added.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police K Karthikeyan told TNIE that they will soon convene a meeting with officials from Kerala on the issue. “We have booked a case and arrested the person who discharged waste on Monday. We are more conscious on this issue and planning for a meeting with Kerala police to seek their coordination in tackling the issue. We have instructed all check posts to keep vigil on such trucks,” Karthikeyan said.