Minister inspects saplings nourished under drip irrigation

Forest Minister K. T. Patchaimal on Thursday visited a few spots in the district that were covered under the Massive Tree Sapling Programme, which was inaugurated in connection with the Chief Minister’s birthday. As it has been proposed to plant 3 lakh seedlings – 2.25 lakh saplings by the Social Forestry Division and 75,000 seedlings by the Tirunelveli forest division - in the district under this programme, around 7,000 neem, pungan, badam, teak, bamboo, kumil, vaagai and poovarsu saplings have been planted in three places.

The Tamil Nadu Green Movement, a network of environmental activists, opposed some aspects of the effluent-to-irrigation scheme in the 1980s. Since then, the Seshasayee factory has come a long way.

Treated wastewater from paper factory irrigates sugarcane fields A hub of dyeing units in Tamil Nadu, Pallipalayam is an exhibition of groundwater pollution from industry. The Cauvery river is joined by steady streams of industrial effluents; tannery units upstream have already done their bit. In the heart of this industrial darkness is a story of farmer-industry simpatico that began in the