Environment
The
Coimbatore Factories
and Their Pollution Problems
The urban
areas of India are nowadays growing into bigger agglomerations with ever
increasing pollution due to haphazard and uncontrolled developmental
activities. This increasing pollution can be attributed to a score of
factors like lack of environmental planning, economic issues, social
policies and a lot others. There are a lot of examples of such polluted
places in India, and Coimbatore comes into prominence, thanks to its
foundries.
Coimbatore, one of India’s leading industrial centres with excellent
potential for industrial growth, is spread about 105.6 sq. km and has a
population of 1.1 million highly diverse people. Coimbatore is the second
biggest city in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, and is blessed with a wonderful
climate, sweet siruvani water and high number of educational institutions.
The presence of industrial activities on a large scale, in and around
Coimbatore, tends to have a strong impact on the environmental quality of
the City, particularly the vital component of air. Though vehicular
emissions, construction-related activities, and garbage burning form
sources of air pollution, the industrial emissions from small-scale
industries mainly the foundries assume higher environmental significance.
The concentration of foundries within the city and the lack of state of
the art facilities tends to take its toll on the city' environment and
thereby make Coimbatore a severely air polluted place. Apart from the
proficient and high scale foundries, there are about 250 small and medium
scale industries in Coimbatore, which are severe threats for environmental
pollution.
The small and medium sized foundries are located every 2 kms in the
industrial radius Coimbatore, especially in the industrial areas of
Avarampalayam, Ganapathy, and Peelamedu. The emergence of these
small-scale industries coupled with the educational development of these
areas made these areas a great growth for residential developers. Once
residences started coming on these industrial areas, the industries were
asked to relocate by the TNPCB (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board), and
even after relocation, some industries are asked to re relocate themselves
in the interest of serving excessive population. This is a clear lack of
discipline amongst people, and lack of cohesion for attainment of common
growth.
After finding that relocation won’t work out, the TNCPB (Tamil Nadu
Pollution Control Board) ordered the industries to install emission
control devices. Earlier the electrostatic precipitators were suggested
and after considering the economic status of these small-scale foundries,
wet collection devices like the cyclone scrubbers were suggested. The cost
of these devices would range to 40,000 and 50,000Rs,and these were found
hard to bear for these industries. We should be reminded that these
industries are set up under the initial cost of 75,000 rupees, and hardly
making profits, thanks to the lag of industrial activity after bomb blasts
and huge competition. They are now trying to get time and push another
design of scrubber that costs only 25,000.However the only aim of these
time lags is to avoid actions, as these foundries are never inclined to
set up these industries.
After a low profile activities for the past half a dozen years, the
foundries suddenly saw a great business opportunity when the European
countries concentrated on importing foundry products from India. The
European market in itself is a telling story. The European foundries were
ordered to close since they couldn’t cope up with the Environmental
Standards (given that their emissions are 50% less toxic than ours), and
the Europeans moved on to Howrah and Coimbatore for their foundry
products.
The business starved foundry owners were too concerned not to miss the
offer, and started competing with each other for production. And at this
stage, any investment in pollution control devices would be a mis-investment
for them.
While the TNPCB is fighting for the community and the small-scale
foundries for themselves, no one has cared for the 3000 odd workers who
work in these foundries. Their health conditions are entirely harmful.
Health effects affect almost 95% of these workers (simpletons and
uneducated persons). And nobody has thought of providing them with safety
equipments. Yours truly couldn’t find a 15 minute emission breathable,
just imagine the plight of the persons who inhale them for 6 hours a day.
A nearby doctor says that these people suffering continuous emissions are
prone to death in 8-15 years.
For the past three or four years, this problem is getting aggravated by
NGOs, but the TNPCB and these foundries are yet to come to a solution, and
never seem to come to one in the near future. The valuable lives of
neighboring people and workers deteriorate, thanks to the money greedy
people.
The study of a solution to this problem lead to two significant points
that are however not related to environmental areas. First one being the
lack of discipline in our people, and the other is to put economy the top
priority even prior to safety in life When will India place environment
more prior to economy? I beg the concerned people to look after this issue
immediately, with a lot of discipline. An Indian life is worth the same
value as the English life.
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