| Subject: Aspen, grow up and let it go.... |
Author:
bubba
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Date Posted: 08:16:53 06/09/07 Sat
In reply to:
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's message, "Re: OOPs here is the article...RISE AND SHINE ignorant fucking ass hole... -- DE, 09:30:48 06/09/07 Sat [1]" on 06:44:36 06/09/07 Sat
...this is really becoming quite tedious.
And it's repetitive nature really does not reflect well upon you as an individual.
>>KERALA’S KILLER FACTORIES
>>
>>PARK OF POLLUTION
>>
>>The residents of a Dalit colony in Kerala’s Kanjikode
>>have been dying a silent death, reports KA Shaji
>>
>>
>>Where to go: Samadhana Prabhu and his parents have
>>been advised to move
>>Photos: Sujit
>>
>>The industrial area has 42 factories that flout
>>industrial security norms and pollution control
>>measures
>>The Kanjikode industrial park in Kerala is in the news
>>for good as well as bad reasons. The 300-acre park is
>>the second largest of its kind in the state and the
>>state government has recently submitted a proposal to
>>the defence ministry to establish a defence production
>>unit there.
>>
>>But the grime side of the story is that industrial
>>pollution in the region has assumed alarming
>>proportion. According to the tribals and the Dalits
>>who reside in the region, Kanjikode is a hell. As many
>>as 42 iron-smelting factories along with the soft
>>drink giant Pepsi’s bottling unit are violating the
>>pollution control measures and industrial safety
>>norms. Almost all the residents near the park are
>>suffering from bronchitis, asthma, cancer and kidney
>>diseases ever since the establishment of these units.
>>
>>Eight-year-old Samadhana Prabhu goes to the local
>>government hospital every week since he is suffering
>>from severe respiratory ailments. The doctors have
>>advised the poor Dalit family to shift their home
>>outside the highly polluted Vivekanada Colony in
>>Kanjikode. But they have no place to go.
>>
>>“We are not against the industrial units. There are
>>over 498 industrial units. Due to these iron smelting
>>units, Kanjikode is another ‘Bhopal’ in the making. A
>>slow and silent death is in store for us,’’ said
>>50-year-old Pushpa who resides in the colony.
>>Even the flowers and trees of the colony have turned
>>black due to the emission of black waste from the
>>Kairali Steel, a steel-smelting unit. The residents
>>even hesitate to dry up their white clothes in open
>>place. The walls of most houses have already turned
>>black.
>>
>>“In the last six months, two men died due to
>>respiratory ailments. The hospitals and the district
>>administration had confirmed it. But the factory
>>owners were not ready to give even a paltry
>>compensation to the victims’ families,” said Pushpa.
>>
>>“The Dalit families, now living in the Vivekananda
>>colony, were the ones who gave land to establish the
>>park. Accepting the rehabilitation package of the then
>>United Democratic Front (UDF) government, they moved
>>to the colony. However, the government even allowed
>>many polluting units to operate in their residential
>>area,” said SB Raju, a trade union activist.
>>
>>
>>Out to kill: industrial waste along the Kotayar river
>>bank
>>
>>‘The workers from North India come for a daily wage of
>>Rs 35 and are not allowed to talk to the locals,’
>>
>>says a CITU leader
>>
>>Worse, 16 of these units are located on the banks of
>>Korayar, a major tributary of Kerala’s largest river
>>Bharathapuzha. Due to the direct dumping of industrial
>>wastes into the river, water has turned arsenic and
>>about a kilometer stretch of its bank is deposited
>>with the solid wastes.
>>
>>Moreover, a sponge iron unit has recently been
>>established close to the Malapuzha drinking water and
>>irrigation project site in Bharathapuzha. Once
>>operational, the factory’s waste and fly ash would
>>contaminate the water source of over five lakh
>people.
>>
>>Significantly, these 42 units have employed about
>>13,000 labourers mostly from Bihar, Jharkhand and
>>Uttar Pradesh. Even the Palakkad district labour
>>office has no information about them. But the local
>>citu office reveals that they work in extremely
>>inhuman conditions. There is no fixed duty hours or
>>minimum wage. They work in a high-temperature
>>environment. “They have provided us gunny bags to
>>cover our bodies. One will pump water on these bags to
>>make us cool. But that is quite inadequate when the
>>temperature rises up to 1,500 degree Celsius,’’ said
>>Masud (name changed), an AP Steel employ, who hails
>>from Bihar.
>>
>>“The workers there are mere slaves. The middle men and
>>the commission agents recruit labourers from North
>>India. Once they join the work, any demand from their
>>side even for basic needs would be suppressed
>>mercilessly,” said R. Sreevatsan, a citu leader. “They
>>are not even allowed to speak to the local people,” he
>>added.
>>
>>In the previous year, at least seven workers were died
>>in explosions which took place in the factories. The
>>normal daily wage in Kerala is around Rs 150. However,
>>these workers get only Rs 35 as the recruiting agents
>>would also get a cut from their salary.
>>
>>Following the intervention of Palakkad mp, NN
>>Krishnadas, Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan sent a
>>legislature committee to study the situation there.
>>However, the locals say that there is a lobby within
>>the CPM to protect the interests of factory owners.
>>“These units are using lethal toxic and explosive
>>materials as raw materials,” says T. Suresh,
>>president, Pudussery panchayat.
>>
>>“Parts of missiles, tanks, chemical equipment and even
>>nuclear wastes are being imported from overseas to
>>re-cycle there,” he added.
>>
>>DEAD END
>>
>>In the last six months, two men died at a Dalit colony
>>near the Kanjikode industrial park due to respiratory
>>ailments
>>The district administration had confirmed it but no
>>compensation was given to the victims’ families
>>Most residents are suffering from bronchitis and
>>asthma
>>Even the flowers and plants have turned black in the
>>colony due to pollution
>>Most factories have employed about 13,000 workers,
>>mostly from Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh
>>There is no fixed duty hours or minimum wage for them
>>
>>According to a study by the Central Pollution Control
>>Board, no such factory is permissible in Palakkad
>>district, considering its demographic aspects. A top
>>official of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board
>>(KSPCB) also confirms the people’s grievances. “The
>>villagers had filed complaints on air and water
>>pollution,” admits ST Jayaprasad, Member Secretary,
>>KSPCB. “The board members visited the area and
>>directed the factory owners to institute a number of
>>remedial measures,” he added. But hardly anyone
>>believes this. Says eminent writer Sukumar Azhikode:
>>“It (KSPCB) is not a board that controls pollution but
>>one that is controlled by the politicians.”
>>
>>Most factories do not possess the panchayat’s license
>>to smelt iron. Undoubtedly, these are owned by
>>powerful politicians. The locals say a former industry
>>minister (who is reportedly close to the current
>>Industry Minister Elamarom Kareem) owns many. The
>>police, taxes and power department officials confirm
>>that he was instrumental in granting the units
>>clearance, bypassing the objections raised by the
>>departments concerned.
>>
>>Curiously, Kareem is keeping a studied silence over
>>the demand of local CPM leaders to curb these
>>polluting units.
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