'Coir unit responsible for water pollution'

ERODE: A group of villagers from Pathaiyampalayam near Arachalur in Erode petitioned district collector S Prabhakaran on Monday demanding action against a coir unit. They allege that a coir unit has been contaminating the ground level water by releasing untreated effluents into it. "The coir unit keeps the unprocessed coir in the open and pour water over it.This contaminated water would percolate to the ground level water aquifer," they said.
Talking to TOI, S Samiyappan, another villager further said that close to 300 acres of lands are being affected because of the unit. "It has been polluting the ground level water bodies including our irrigation wells," said .
According to the petitioners, the coir unit workers spread the coir in the open for several weeks and pour water on it to ensure the fibre shrinks faster. "Each coir mountain would be seven feet high and would be spread over nearly 50 acres," Samiyappan added that the yield harvested by farmers in the surrounding areas was marginal than expected, due to water and land contamination.
The farmers in the village mainly cultivate turmeric, jasmine, banana, sugarcane crops in their field and usually get good yield every year. But after the setting up of the coir unit, the farmers the yield has been considerably marginalised.
The villagers also said that complaints made regarding the coir unit to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) have fallen on deaf ears. "TNPCB officials have been taking stern actions against illegal dyeing units in the district. But they haven't acted on our complaints against the coir unit," said K Mallika, another petitioner.They alleged that the unit was letting off non-treated effluents in open land and dried water bodies. "Initially, we thought that the coir unit will not affect the fertility of our lands. But, in the last five years, a foul smell started emanating from the water bodies. The taste of water has also turned bitter," the petitioners said and added that the villagers could not use the water due to contamination.
The collector S Prabhakaran received the petition and assured them that he would look into this issue at the earliest. He also ordered officials to collect water samples for lab test.