TIRUPPUR: The state government has been urged to cancel the SIPCOT project planned to be set up in Kolathupalayam near Dharapuram in Tiruppur district. The public cited adverse environmental impact on a few villages near the site once industrial units are established. More than 100 villagers gathered in Dharapuram on Sunday evening and submitted a petition in this regard to Minister N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.
Conveying the apprehensions of the public, C Kalidas, Tiruppur East District President of the Tamil Maanila Congress, stated, “Dyeing waste and chemical waste from the factories that will be set up in the SIPCOT complex will pollute water, land, and air, causing severe environmental damage.”
Kulukkupalayam, Kolathupalayam, Karaiyur, Kalipalayam, Alampalayam, Peramiyam, Nalligoundanpalayam, Karukampalayam, Krishnapuram, Mettuvalasu, Seerampalayam, Ramapattinam, and Veerakshimangalam villages are the villages near the project site that are likely to be affected by pollution, Kalidas added.
Kolathupalayam is a fertile land with abundant water resources. Here paddy is cultivated and agriculture is flourishing due to irrigation from the Amaravathi River, the Nallathangal Odai reservoir irrigation, and the Udayar pond, he said.
“The untreated sewage from the factories that is likely to flow into the Amaravathi River will pose a threat to the lives of the public, including farmers, and even livestock in the irrigation area of the river up to Karur.
Other sources of drinking water in the Udayar pond irrigation zone near the industrial park will also be affected. The sewage from the industrial park will be mixed with the canals of the Nallathangal Odai reservoir, affecting the public up to Nathapalayam,” he added.
The Minister assured the villagers that she would raise the matter with the department concerned. She could not be contacted when TNIE tried to contact her in this regard.