Sep 18, 2017
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Cuddalore: Sipcot area community environmental monitoring (SACEM) has lodged a complaint with the Tamil Nadu pollution control board (TNPCB), Cuddalore district collector and district environmental engineer to initiate action against industries that have discharged untreated effluents into storm water drain at the Sipcot industrial estate in the district.
The members of the environmental watch dog, SACEM, said they noticed the discharge of untreated effluents into the storm water drain on Thursday afternoon. “We contacted the district environmental engineer over the phone and urged him to take stringent action against the industries for causing pollution,” said a member.
They charged that the effluent spread over the canal approximately 100 feet on both sides from the point where it was discharged. “The water in the drain turned black. The water is covered by a thick oily layer. Foul smell emanating from the effluent is causing nausea and vomiting among the residents in the localities,” SACEM said in the complaint.
The TNPCB officials who inspected the spot directed the workers to draw the effluent and discharge it to the effluent treatment plant in the estate. “However, the officials have not so far taken any samples of the effluent for analysis in an effort to find the erring industries that drained the chemical waste into the storm water drain and initiate stringent action against them,” said the complaint.
They charged that the industries have been in the practice of discharging untreated effluents into the storm water drain during rainy season as it goes unnoticed in rain-floods.