The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s drive against illegal dyeing units that discharge effluents into River Cauvery at Tiruchengode Taluk in Namakkal resumed on Wednesday.

Kumaragiri Lake was once a major drinking water source for Salem

Upset over the continuance of pollution of Kumaragiri Lake at Ammapet in Salem city by a few polluting dyeing units of that locality, Salem Citizens Forum (SCF) has planned to organise demonstrations to condemn the alleged inaction of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) from Monday, November 4.

The Salem Citizens Forum (SCF) is in the process of launching a series of demonstrations and campaigns to emphasize on the need for conserving trees and to improve the green cover in Salem.

“There is no sand mining in the 20 mining points along the stretch of River Cauvery since Sunday as the flood has made sand mining impossible.

Even groundwater in the area is polluted: residents

Even groundwater in the area is polluted, say residents

With the water from Mettur dam hardly reaching River Cauvery in Namakkal district, the effluents discharged from the unauthorised dyeing units in Pallipalayam and Komarapalayam into the river has become its only source of water. “Anyone crossing the bridge that connects Erode and Pallipalayam can easily see the extent of pollution caused to the river”, says environmental activist R.K. Madeshwaran.

Toilets are yet to be considered an integral part of houses in rural areas of Namakkal

Superstitious beliefs, religious sentiments and vasthu shastra are making construction of toilets in rural areas of Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu an uphill task. P. Aruna (32) and her husband Periyasamy (45), a truck driver of Parali panchayat, stopped constructing a toilet and filled up the leach pit with debris. “An astrologer came to our house and told us that we should not dig any pit or else our five-year-old boy will have a bad time,” the couple said.

Farmers in Namakkal district will get the entire drought relief fund of Rs. 56.11 crore.

“The package will benefit a total of 1,17,458 farmers who suffered crop or yield loss of more than 50 per cent on an area of 1,80,981 acres, as on January 2013”, Collector D. Jagannathan told The Hindu on Friday. An initial survey on the impact of the drought was conducted in January. A detailed report was submitted to the State Government and to a high level committee headed by Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam and five other Ministers.

“The project to ‘Alleviate Poverty and Malnutrition in Agro Biodiversity Hot Spots’ in Kolli Hills that is jointly implemented by the University of Alberta (UA), Canada, and M.S.

Tests conducted on soil samples to determine level of macro and micro nutrients

Study on the availability of micro and macro nutrients in soil samples collected from Valapurnadu Panchayat atop Kolli Hills reveals that it lacked three of the four main macro ingredients – organic carbon, nitrogen and potash. “On the other hand availability of zinc (micro nutrient) is also below average,” M. Janakiraman, a Soil Pedologist and Consultant said.