TNPCB issues consent to establish two such sludge disposal facilities at Tirupur and Karur.

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention. Mr. Kalidasan pointed out that during 2007, eight to 12 tigers were found in the area. Organisations such as World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Trust of India confirmed the tiger existence through various studies

Continuance of the large-scale pollution of the River Cauvery by authorised and illegal dyeing, textile processing and tanneries on either side of the river (in Namakkal and Erode districts) was th

‘Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board will take steps to control pollution

The water flow in the Bhavani River has witnessed a substantial increase since last week and the farmers depending on the river for irrigation are gravely concerned. The reason - the water flow has gone up because the textile processing and tannery units are dumping thousands of gallons of untreated, toxic effluents in the river.

‘Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board will take steps to control pollution’

The water flow in the Bhavani River has witnessed a substantial increase since last week and the farmers depending on the river for irrigation are gravely concerned. The reason - the water flow has gone up because the textile processing and tannery units are dumping thousands of gallons of untreated, toxic effluents in the river. “We will be happy if the flow increases due to the release of water from the Bhavanisagar dam. What the river receives now is huge amount of toxic effluents from the textile processing and tannery units,” points out district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association T. Subbu.

‘The project will affect the livelihood of farming community’

More than 200 farmers and women staged a demonstration at a village in Chennimalai block of Erode district on Tuesday protesting against the Gas Authority of India Limited's (GAIL) move to lay the gas pipeline through farm lands. Farmers and women gathered at a field in Periyakattupalayam near Chennimalai, one of the villages enroute the pipeline, and raised slogans against the GAIL authorities stating that the project would affect the livelihood of the farming community.

The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Tuesday ordered notice to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and other authorities, including the District Collector, Namakkal, asking them to explain the steps taken against illegal dyeing units running near Rasipuram in that district without effluent treatment plants and which were closed in Tirupur and Erode on orders of the Madras High Court.

J.Srinivasa Mohan, counsel for the villagers, said, “Following the orders of the Madras High Court, dyeing units running without effluent treatment plants were closed. However, illegal units are being set up rampantly in other parts of State such as Rasipuram.

Lack of action from TNPCB encouraged industrial units to dump effluents

Officials are making tall claims that they have controlled pollution levels in the district. But the water carrying channels here tell a different, shocking story. The Kalingarayan canal, lifeline of more than 30,000 farmers in the district, carried huge amount of light blue colour liquid near Karungalpalayam and the area was enveloped in an acrid smell. In Bhavani and most other places, the colour of the water was dark green and in a few places, the canal carried dark red-coloured water.

Local bodies in Erode district have been allotted Rs 6.10 crore for water supply schemes to battle drought, according to Collector Dr V K Shanmugam

They dump tonnes of effluents into Cauvery, Bhavani rivers that feed lands of thousands of farmers

Erode and Namakkal have emerged safe havens for scores of dyeing units that had to shut shop in Tirupur after the Madras High Court ordered their closure for flouting pollution norms two years ago. In spite of the efforts of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), several illegal units continue to flourish in these districts and dump tonnes of effluents into the Cauvery and Bhavani rivers that feed agricultural lands of thousands of farmers.