489 dyeing

Karur, Tamil Nadu, Apr 2 (UNI) As many as 489 dyeing and bleaching units in Karur district were closed indefinitely from today in protest against the Madras High Court verdict, ordering closure of 20 units due to the misrepresentation of facts by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and demanding uniform implementation of pollution control norms all over the state to achieve zero discharge status.

The indefinite strike by the dyeing and bleaching units would affect the livelihoods of more than 50,000 workers.

These units were linked to eight Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPS) and 96 individual Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPS) situated around the textile town of Karur.

Talking to UNI Secretary of Karur CETPS and ETPS Federation M P Ramasamy, textile industry was spending around Rs 60 lakh a month to treat effluents discharged from the dyeing and bleaching units here. Besides this, over 93 units that were using reactive dyes had deployed Nano Membrane Technology (NMT), which would cost between Rs 25 and Rs 50 lakh depending upon the installed capacity.

Ramasamy further said the TNPCB had directed the Federation to move towards zero discharge norms and simultaneously recommended the same to the Madras High Court. With the pollution control norms, the Federation adhering to, we could not compete cost-wise with dyers and bleachers from Erode, Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai and Namakkal districts, due to disparity in application of pollution control norms, he added.

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