I am posting some news which I missed as it happened.
TN got most thermal plant nods - Express News Service
Gokul Chandrasekar
Last Updated : 23 Sep 2011 09:22:41 AM IST
CHENNAI: Pointing out that about 50,000 acres of forest land was allotted for mining and power projects, the study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment revealed that Tamil Nadu was granted the most clearances for thermal power plants-37.
“In the mad rush to improve power availability in the state, the government is actually forgetting the lessons that the tsunami taught us,” says environmental activist Shweta Narayanan. “The entire state coastline is dotted by power plant proposals, a recipe for disaster,” says Narayanan. As if this wasn’t enough, a present proposal for a Chemical SEZ and allied power plants in coastal Tamil Nadu has been formulated in a manner that the park engulfs entire Pichavaram— the second largest mangrove forest in the world.
“The 11th and 12th Five Year Plans together target a capacity addition of 150,000 MW of power. However, in the past five years, the environment ministry has granted clearance for an astounding 210,000 MW of thermal power capacity, in other words, 60,000 MW more than what has been proposed till 2017,” said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Directorof CSE.
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Cos to pay for pollution study - The Times of India
TNN Jan 1, 2011, 03.06am IST
CHENNAI: At least 13 paint, pharma and chemical units at the SIPCOT industrial complex in Cuddalore have been directed by the Madras high court to pay Rs 1 lakh each for a survey on pollution levels in the locality.
A division bench, comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and D Hariparanthaman, passing interim orders on a public interest writ petition, asked the companies to deposit the amount to the credit of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) within a week.
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Residents turn their ire against oil firm - The Hindu
Special Correspondent
About 200 residents squatted on Cuddalore-Chidambaram road
They demanded due compensation to families of the deceased and injured
CUDDALORE: Residents of Thiruchopuram and Nanjalingampettai on Tuesday turned their ire against a private oil company by holding it responsible for the death of four girl students in the road accident that occurred at Semmanguppam near here on Monday.
About 200 residents squatted on Cuddalore-Chidambaram road at Semmanguppam, blocking the traffic for about an hour in the morning. They urged the oil company to give due compensation to the families of the deceased and injured students.
They also impounded three vehicles carrying employees of the company and refused to let go until the company apologised to the villagers for the accident and come out with due compensation package.
Meanwhile, a section of them went to Periakuppam (where the oil company is located) to voice their protest.
When the security personnel did not allow them inside, they pelted stones and damaged glass panes.
They also broke the windscreen of an ambulance parked on the company premises. A spokesperson of the residents said that it was due to the recklessness of the driver of the vehicle contracted by the company that the accident took place, killing the four and injuring 31 others.
The spokesperson alleged that even though the company knew fully well that it was one of the vehicles engaged by the company that caused the accident, the company did not take any efforts to arrange for ambulances to take the injured to the hospital.
It was the local people and the passers-by who took the injured in a private bus to the hospital. The company management remained indifferent to the tragedy and never expressed condolence to the bereaved families nor did it send any of its representatives to the government hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Revenue Divisional Officer Murugesan and Deputy Superintendent of Police Pandian reached the spot and held talks with the protestors to assuage their feelings.
The company sources said that none of the vehicles owned by the company was involved in the accident.
It was the vehicle hired by a sub-contractor of the company that met with the accident while transporting the employees of the former to the company premises.
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Coastal community hit by sea erosion - The Hindu
A.V. Ragunathan
Capital dredging, redesigning of harbour among suggestions put forth
CUDDALORE: A significant part of the coastal area at Chinnamudaliarchavadi in Villupuram has been lost to the sea. According to a conservative estimate, at least 200 acres of land along the 10-km coastal stretch, off East Coast Road, has been gobbled up owing to sea incursion or sea erosion.
According to a study by Pondicherry Citizens Action Network (PCAC) in coordination with Federation for People's Rights, the 80-m-wide beach at Chinnamudaliarchavadi and two rows of fishermen tenements have vanished.
President of the PCAC Probir Banerjee told The Hindu that the study attributed this factor to two reasons: inconsistent dredging at the Puducherry harbour and construction of groynes. These structures had caused devastations along the Puducherry and Villupuram coast.
Sea incursion had become almost a common phenomenon, uprooting trees and pulling down the habitations of the fishermen, particularly on the Villupuram side.
The water aquifer had become saline thus spoiling the groundwater for a stretch of four km inland.
Mr. Banerjee said that the territorial government had spent Rs.20 crore on putting up these structures to safeguard the welfare of 150 fishermen.
But wittingly or unwittingly it had caused permanent loss of livelihood to 7,000 other families.
Social, economic costs
Had the harbour been properly dredged at an estimated cost of Rs.3 crore a year, things would not have come to such a pass. The environment, social and economic costs of this lapse were quite enormous and irreparable.
Mr. Banerjee said that the natural resources were the assets of the country but the way these were plundered was a cause for concern. If the trend was not reversed, over a period, the GDP (gross domestic product) would register a negative growth.
He noted that though the governments of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were said to have reached an understanding to tackle the issue jointly, no progress was yet achieved on this front.
Therefore, the PCAC and the Federation for People's Rights, had appealed to the Union Ministry for Environment to find a permanent solution to the issue in coordination with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments.
They had also suggested the following measures: sand bypass system (a form of dredging) must be activated, capital dredging should be done and the harbour ought to be re-designed.
Fishermen apprised
Mr. Banerjee on Saturday apprised the fishermen, social organisations and consumer activists on the impending threat posed by the proposal to set up a clutch of private ports along the Cuddalore coast.
M. Nizamudeen of the Consumer Federation-Tamil Nadu said representatives of the SIPCOT Local Community Monitoring, Tamil Nadu Meenavar Peravai, Meenavar Viduthalai Vengaigal, Tamil Nadu Meenavar Padhukappu Iyakkam, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) attended the session in which satellite pictures were presented to demonstrate the gravity of the problem.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Activists urge government to abandon Kudankulam project - The Hindu
Activists urge government to abandon Kudankulam project
Special Correspondent
CUDDALORE, November 8, 2011
Environmentalists and consumer activists staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Monday clamouring for abandonment of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
Members of the Consumer Federation-Tamil Nadu, SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitors and the People Movement Against Nuclear Power participated in it.
Executive secretary of the Consumer Federation M. Nizamudeen said that India should draw a lesson from the nuclear power plant disasters occurred elsewhere in the world and the recent being the Fukushima plant in Japan that was devastated by the tsunami and caused untold misery to the people there.
Demand
There was no second opinion over the fact that electricity generation ought to be augmented to meet the increasing demand. But considering the fact that nuclear power plants had the potential to wreak long-term havoc on humanity, marine life and on the living beings on the earth the best option available was to jettison such projects and to tap safe and clean sources of energy.
Special Correspondent
CUDDALORE, November 8, 2011
Environmentalists and consumer activists staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Monday clamouring for abandonment of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
Members of the Consumer Federation-Tamil Nadu, SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitors and the People Movement Against Nuclear Power participated in it.
Executive secretary of the Consumer Federation M. Nizamudeen said that India should draw a lesson from the nuclear power plant disasters occurred elsewhere in the world and the recent being the Fukushima plant in Japan that was devastated by the tsunami and caused untold misery to the people there.
Demand
There was no second opinion over the fact that electricity generation ought to be augmented to meet the increasing demand. But considering the fact that nuclear power plants had the potential to wreak long-term havoc on humanity, marine life and on the living beings on the earth the best option available was to jettison such projects and to tap safe and clean sources of energy.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
People's charter lists demands to candidates
People's charter lists demands to candidates - THE HINDU
Cuddalore, 16 OCTOBER 2011
The Federation of All Residents' Welfare Associations-Cuddalore has brought out a “People's charter” listing out demands for improving living conditions in urban and rural areas.
Copies of the charter are being handed over to candidates contesting local body elections, political parties, district administration and the public. The Association, which met under the presidentship of R. Aranganathan here, identified at least 29 issues to be resolved.
Federation general secretary M. Maruthavanan told The Hindu the charter noted that Cuddalore, besides facing lack of civic amenities, was also engulfed in pollution problems that severely affected air and water quality. It had been scientifically established that toxic elements that were present in excess quantity in water sources and ambient air were posing health hazards. The aspiring candidates should focus attention on these issues during and after the elections.
It pointed out that groundwater in Cuddalore was increasingly turning brackish and in another five years the town would be in the grip of serious water crisis. Therefore, the proposed Kollidam water project should be executed expeditiously.
The Federation observed that the shoddy execution of the underground drainage project had caused immense problems to commuters and the stretch of East Coast Road from the Manjakuppam clock tower to the Cuddalore Old Town was in shambles.
Cuddalore, 16 OCTOBER 2011
The Federation of All Residents' Welfare Associations-Cuddalore has brought out a “People's charter” listing out demands for improving living conditions in urban and rural areas.
Copies of the charter are being handed over to candidates contesting local body elections, political parties, district administration and the public. The Association, which met under the presidentship of R. Aranganathan here, identified at least 29 issues to be resolved.
Federation general secretary M. Maruthavanan told The Hindu the charter noted that Cuddalore, besides facing lack of civic amenities, was also engulfed in pollution problems that severely affected air and water quality. It had been scientifically established that toxic elements that were present in excess quantity in water sources and ambient air were posing health hazards. The aspiring candidates should focus attention on these issues during and after the elections.
It pointed out that groundwater in Cuddalore was increasingly turning brackish and in another five years the town would be in the grip of serious water crisis. Therefore, the proposed Kollidam water project should be executed expeditiously.
The Federation observed that the shoddy execution of the underground drainage project had caused immense problems to commuters and the stretch of East Coast Road from the Manjakuppam clock tower to the Cuddalore Old Town was in shambles.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Pollution update from SipcotCuddalore.com
Mettur Residents Petition Collector Against Pollution - SipcotCuddalore.com
25 JULY, 2011. SALEM -- Twenty seven people from different parts of Mettur submitted complaints of pollution and damage to health and livelihood to the District Collector of Salem at the Grievance day meeting at the Collectorate. Residents from Ramamoorthy Nagar, a residential area behind Vedanta-owned Malco's thermal power plant wrote to the Collector complaining of incessant dust from the mountain-like dump of toxic Red Mud, and demanded its speedy removal read more>>
Show-cause notice issued to Nagarjuna Oil Corporation - The Hindu
29 July 2011
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued a show-cause notice to the Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd, located at Kayalpattu in Thiruchopuram near here, asking the company why penal action should not be taken against it for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and raising a structure without obtaining the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance read more>>
Effluent Discharge at Greenpark Odai through an Illegal Pipeline - SipcotCuddalore.com
28 JULY, 2011 Greenpark, Mettur - Villagers in the Thangamapuripatnam area reported a discharge of stong medicine smelling effluents in the stream alongiside the residential area in Greenpark at around 6 a.m. today. Residents alleged that an old pipeline belonging to Chemplast Sanmar runs in the vicinity of the pipeline, and that this may have been the source for the effluents. Ganesan of the Mettur Padhukaappu Iyakkam complained to Mr. Pandian, Assistant Environmental Engineer (AEE), TNPCB at 10 a.m., who visited the area in the evening read more>>
Concern over chemical storage in shut down unit - The Hindu
4 August 2011
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
Workers, social activists and environmentalists have voiced concern over the safety of the “idle storage of ammonium and chloroform in two tanks” in the recently shut down SPIC Pharma unit located on the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here.
The workers claim that the chemicals are flammable and would even cause explosion when leak occurs in the tanks. In such a case, they fear, it would pose a severe health hazard to the people living in the surrounding areas read more>>
GAS LEAK IN CHEMPLAST SANMAR PLANT I - SipcotCuddalore.com
METTUR, 06.08.2011 About twenty people suffered from breathing difficulty, stomach swelling and burning of the eyes following a gas leak from Plant I of Chemplast Sanmar in Mettur R.S. on 06.08.2011 at 7.00 P.M. The gas leak which was seen as a white cloud of smoke lasted till 8.30 P.M. and the shops around the factory shut at 8.00 P.M. as panic set in among shop keepers. Nearly ten shop keepers approached the Security of Chemplast Sanmar who is then said to have contacted a Senior Officer in Chemplast Sanmar Plant I read more>>
For up to date news about pollution in Cuddalore visit www.sipcotcuddalore.com
25 JULY, 2011. SALEM -- Twenty seven people from different parts of Mettur submitted complaints of pollution and damage to health and livelihood to the District Collector of Salem at the Grievance day meeting at the Collectorate. Residents from Ramamoorthy Nagar, a residential area behind Vedanta-owned Malco's thermal power plant wrote to the Collector complaining of incessant dust from the mountain-like dump of toxic Red Mud, and demanded its speedy removal read more>>
Show-cause notice issued to Nagarjuna Oil Corporation - The Hindu
29 July 2011
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued a show-cause notice to the Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd, located at Kayalpattu in Thiruchopuram near here, asking the company why penal action should not be taken against it for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and raising a structure without obtaining the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance read more>>
Effluent Discharge at Greenpark Odai through an Illegal Pipeline - SipcotCuddalore.com
28 JULY, 2011 Greenpark, Mettur - Villagers in the Thangamapuripatnam area reported a discharge of stong medicine smelling effluents in the stream alongiside the residential area in Greenpark at around 6 a.m. today. Residents alleged that an old pipeline belonging to Chemplast Sanmar runs in the vicinity of the pipeline, and that this may have been the source for the effluents. Ganesan of the Mettur Padhukaappu Iyakkam complained to Mr. Pandian, Assistant Environmental Engineer (AEE), TNPCB at 10 a.m., who visited the area in the evening read more>>
Concern over chemical storage in shut down unit - The Hindu
4 August 2011
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
Workers, social activists and environmentalists have voiced concern over the safety of the “idle storage of ammonium and chloroform in two tanks” in the recently shut down SPIC Pharma unit located on the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here.
The workers claim that the chemicals are flammable and would even cause explosion when leak occurs in the tanks. In such a case, they fear, it would pose a severe health hazard to the people living in the surrounding areas read more>>
GAS LEAK IN CHEMPLAST SANMAR PLANT I - SipcotCuddalore.com
METTUR, 06.08.2011 About twenty people suffered from breathing difficulty, stomach swelling and burning of the eyes following a gas leak from Plant I of Chemplast Sanmar in Mettur R.S. on 06.08.2011 at 7.00 P.M. The gas leak which was seen as a white cloud of smoke lasted till 8.30 P.M. and the shops around the factory shut at 8.00 P.M. as panic set in among shop keepers. Nearly ten shop keepers approached the Security of Chemplast Sanmar who is then said to have contacted a Senior Officer in Chemplast Sanmar Plant I read more>>
For up to date news about pollution in Cuddalore visit www.sipcotcuddalore.com
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Show-cause notice issued to Nagarjuna Oil Corporation - The Hindu
Show-cause notice issued to Nagarjuna Oil Corporation
For raising a structure without obtaining CRZ clearance
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued a show-cause notice to the Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd, located at Kayalpattu in Thiruchopuram near here, asking the company why penal action should not be taken against it for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and raising a structure without obtaining the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.
In the notice the TNPCB has stated that the unit has started establishment of the marine terminal facility by providing a temporary bridge measuring 450-metre long, 6-metre wide and 6-metre above mean sea level, starting from the shoreline into the sea.
It has also noted that the unit has started providing pilings to a length of 261 metre in the sea for construction of an approach trestle. The unit has constructed four sheds in the CRZ area to carry out the construction activity and has also revived the jetty, without getting CRZ clearance, to facilitate the barge services to bring heavy equipment for the refinery.
When contacted, District Environmental Engineer (TNPCB-Cuddalore) A.Raja said that following the show-cause notice, the company had stopped the works on the construction of the temporary bridge. It could revive the works only after getting due clearance.
Meanwhile, executive secretary of the Consumer Federation Tamil Nadu M.Nizamudeen told presspersons that the construction of the temporary bridge by the company had caused sea erosion in the nearby coastal villages and affected the fishing community.
For raising a structure without obtaining CRZ clearance
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued a show-cause notice to the Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd, located at Kayalpattu in Thiruchopuram near here, asking the company why penal action should not be taken against it for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and raising a structure without obtaining the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.
In the notice the TNPCB has stated that the unit has started establishment of the marine terminal facility by providing a temporary bridge measuring 450-metre long, 6-metre wide and 6-metre above mean sea level, starting from the shoreline into the sea.
It has also noted that the unit has started providing pilings to a length of 261 metre in the sea for construction of an approach trestle. The unit has constructed four sheds in the CRZ area to carry out the construction activity and has also revived the jetty, without getting CRZ clearance, to facilitate the barge services to bring heavy equipment for the refinery.
When contacted, District Environmental Engineer (TNPCB-Cuddalore) A.Raja said that following the show-cause notice, the company had stopped the works on the construction of the temporary bridge. It could revive the works only after getting due clearance.
Meanwhile, executive secretary of the Consumer Federation Tamil Nadu M.Nizamudeen told presspersons that the construction of the temporary bridge by the company had caused sea erosion in the nearby coastal villages and affected the fishing community.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Call for comprehensive cancer screening camp in SIPCOT Industrial Estate area - The Hindu
The SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitoring (an outfit comprising local residents) and the Consumer Federation of Tamil Nadu have appealed to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to order a comprehensive cancer screening camp in the villages surrounding the SIPCOT Industrial Estate here. The Cuddalore district administration along with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had organised a “cancer screening camp” on last June 29 at Kudigadu near the industrial estate in which three women doctors and two men doctors screened a total of 255 patients.
According to M.Nizamudeen, executive secretary of the Federation, even while the camp was going on, Joint Director of Health Services B. Kamalakannan had come over there and instructed the doctors on duty to file a “nil” report on the people's health status.
In this regard the organisations screened a short footage, which was shot in a hand-held camera and recorded on a compact disc, the Joint Director's action to the presspersons here on Monday.
The organisations stated that the camp was organised on a working day without proper intimation. It looked as if an attempt was made to give a clean chit to the industrial units that they were not discharging any carcinogenic pollutants.
Dr Kamalakannan told this correspondent that all doctors had taken the Hippocratic oath not to swerve from ethical medical practices. What he had told the doctors was that if they did not come across any cancer symptoms they could file the “nil” report, but it was misinterpreted in certain quarters and used as a tool for a motivated campaign.
Source
According to M.Nizamudeen, executive secretary of the Federation, even while the camp was going on, Joint Director of Health Services B. Kamalakannan had come over there and instructed the doctors on duty to file a “nil” report on the people's health status.
In this regard the organisations screened a short footage, which was shot in a hand-held camera and recorded on a compact disc, the Joint Director's action to the presspersons here on Monday.
The organisations stated that the camp was organised on a working day without proper intimation. It looked as if an attempt was made to give a clean chit to the industrial units that they were not discharging any carcinogenic pollutants.
Dr Kamalakannan told this correspondent that all doctors had taken the Hippocratic oath not to swerve from ethical medical practices. What he had told the doctors was that if they did not come across any cancer symptoms they could file the “nil” report, but it was misinterpreted in certain quarters and used as a tool for a motivated campaign.
Source
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Gagandeep Singh Bedi now Secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department
More IAS officers shuffled; 47 get new postings - The Hindu
Saturday, May 21, 2011
...
Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, has been posted as Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department in the place of M.P. Nirmala.
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full article>>
Saturday, May 21, 2011
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Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, has been posted as Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department in the place of M.P. Nirmala.
...
full article>>
Sunday, May 15, 2011
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