ERODE
Erode district is famous for Turmeric cultivation and Textile manufacturing. There are many
tourist places in the district. Among them Bhavani Kuduthurai, Kodiveri Dam, Chennimalai,
BhavaniSagar Dam, Pariyur and Kodumudi are very important places
Kooduthurai is the confluence of three rivers at Bhavani
near Erode in Tamil Nadu, where the rivers Kaveri and
Bhavani unite with the invisible Amudha nadhi which is
also called river Amirtha.
Erode, Namakkal and Salem surrounding town,
(Tamilnadu, India) is famous for its dyeing and printing
textile industries. There are about more than 500
industries involved in textile dying/printing processes,
which discharge effluents into nearby Cauvery River, without any treatment.
Erodai – eru – odai . Bhavani and Noyyal rivers , two major tributaries of thje kaveri . near
kodumudi. It is one of the oldest river linking project in india.
The Noyyal, a major tributary of the Cauvery, no longer brings water. Its flow consists of
untreated effluents from Tiruppur, the textile export town in Tamil Nadu. In Erode, another
textile town by the banks of the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu, chemical discharge flows into what
is left of the river. On one side of the bridge by the Bhavani Kattalai barrage on the Cauvery
here, stagnant green water with dead fish greets the eye, while on the other side, effluents
released by the 200-odd dyeing factories and mills in the area come into view. The stench
makes it difficult to breathe and the toxic concoction sears the eye.
Pollution causing foam in Cauvery river near
Bhavani, erode district.
Perundurai becomes capital of cancer in Erode district
ERODE: Perundurai has developed as the industrial center
with SIPCOT Industrial Estate and SEZ Complex.It is the Asia's
Second largest sipcot. Perundurai and its surrounding areas
have slowly becoming capital of cancer in Erode district
due to water and air pollution caused by dyeing, tannery,
old tyre retreading and old battery processing units at the SIPCOT industrial growth centre
in Perundurai, rued Association of pollution affected people of Perundurai. Sipcot, is
around in 2700 acre, was functioning with over 250 units for the past 2 decades.
Though the HC ordered all units follow zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system and the SC
upheld it, many units violated the norms and let the untreated effluents in open places,
borewells, wells and rainwater and dumped the sludges in open places, buried in the earth
and dumped in the Odakattur tank and some wells.
The contaminated water of the tank reached 400 acre Palathohuvu tank in Chennimalai
block affecting people there. So, the TDS in the groundwater touched 20000 ppm per litre
as against the permissible limit of 500 ppm in drinking water. Now, around 60 persons in
the area were afflicted with cancer and other diseases and in recent past 6 died due to
cancer and 2 were struggling with that disease in villages.
As the units burnt substandard coal, firewood, tyre, tubes
etc, they were emitting thick black air with small particles
of dust were spreading around 5 km radius which created
bad smell in many villages. It hit the farm, animal
husbandry activities and forced many to think to shift to
other places.
Hence, all pollution causing units should be closed permanently, land allotment order be
cancelled, power and water connection be disconnected, no pollution causing units be
permitted hereafter in Sipcot, the sludge in the earth, tanks be removed, usage of coal and
firewood as fuel be banned, tyre retreading and old battery processing units be closed.
There are about 540 textile units in the organized sector and about 400 small and tiny units in
the unorganized sector. The Secretary of Tamilaga Vivasayeegal Sangam T Subbu says that
more than 10 textile unit SIPCOT industrial growth centre at Perundurai alone have been
letting out harmful effluents into drains in six or seven villages,badly affecting the ground
water.
The income from the textile printing industry had started decreasing. “Under such
circumstances we cannot erect reverse osmosis plants,which cost around Rs 10 lakh. So it has
forced some textile printers to discharge effluents into drains and canals. We are very much
aware it is injurious,” Thangavelu,a textile printer of Erode,said.
Environmental Threats:
The initial portion of the canal runs through the highly industrialized and urbanized areas of
erode. Municipal corporation the discharge oh untreated effluents from the textile dying units
and leather tanneries introduce major pollutants.
A totally 765 cancer patients are registered at the ECC hospital at erode. In that 271 numbers
of male patients and 494 of female patients are registered. Region/site wise, namely, Brain
(12), Head/Neck (189), Breast (88), Cervix (136), Chest (38), Oesophagus (59), Lung (8),
Stomach (72), Prostate (14), others (149) was reported. It was shown below the table. In total
765 cases in that male 42% and female
Prevalence of different Cancer
Male and Female distribution of Cancer
Risk Assessment
Totally 100 cancer patients were interviewed to the questionnaire. There are about 44%
patients are reported to have known risk factors, 56% are with unknown risk factors. Out of
100 cancer patients 63% are from Cauvery belt and 37% patients from other than Cauvery
belt. From the result it was revealed that most of the patients are from Cauvery belt area.
Pie diagram of Cancer risk factor
Age
Cancer-causing substances
Chronic Inflammation
Hormones
Immunosuppression
Infectious agents
Obesity
Radiation
Sunlight
Prevalence of Cancer in Cauvery Belt
Group-I (Cauvery belt)-Samples
Places
Pallipalayam River water-1
Pallipalayam River water-2
Pallipalayam River water-3
Ganapathypalayam(before Kodumudi) River water
Ganapathypalayam(before Kodumudi) Tab water
Kodumudi
Bhavani Kududurai
Neringipet(Before Bhavani)
Mettur Dam
Group-II (Other than Cauvery belt) -Samples
Puthukombai
Pottiretipatty
Erumaippatty
Ponnary
Kolli Hills
