Wednesday May 11 2005
New Indian Press
CUDDALORE: A huge shoal of fish allegedly fell victim to the industrial pollutants being discharged into Gadilam river, here on Tuesday.
The Cuddalore District Consumer Protection Organisation (CDCPO), an NGO, charged that effulents released from the oldest sugar mill in the state had caused the fish’s death this morning.
In a press release, CDCPO general secretary M Nizamudeen said that the EID Parry sugar mill in Nellikuppam had clandestinely released a considerable amount of industrial sludge into a canal late last night. The fish had died after the sludge was deposited into the river through the canal.
Nizamdeen said the sugar mill had been discharging untreated effluents into the river at regular intervals.
He further stated that several chemical industries in SIPCOT near here, such as EID Parry and a few chemical industries in Pondicherry, were largely responsible for causing major harm not only to the environment in the district but also to marine species in the Bay of Bengal.
He urged the government to initiate immediate action against industries that were responsible for discharging effluents into rivers and seas.
Dimissing the charges, Kumar, district environmental engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, said the fish had died due to the sudden decrease of oxygen content in the river.
Stating that aquatic creatures could survive in water only if it contained a minimum dissolved oxygen of five milligram per litre, he said the dissolved oxygen level had gone down to 1.05 milligram because of the sudden increase in temperature.