To protect the Periyar, the lifeline of the state, and maintain its strength and beauty, a river authority should be formed, said E P Yasodharan, chairman, Environment Cell, constituted by the Standing Council of Trade Unions (SCTU). He was presenting the environmental report released at a conference on ‘Periyar Protection and Industrial Belt’ organised under the aegis of the SCTU against the backdrop of the court’s statement on the pollution caused by industries, at Kalamassery Town Hall on Thursday.
“It should be a permanent body with executive powers and must be legally constituted. The accountability of the authority should be with the constitutional head of the state,” he said. The report was presented to Debt-Relief Commission member M O John.
Yasodharan, who is part of the Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, presented the report on ‘Periyar Action Plan, the Need of the Hour’. He said that pollution is linked closely to the modern way of life which none is willing to shun. Each object that people use from sunrise to sunset causes pollution but humankind cannot go back to the life of the ancient era. If industries are shut down, the consequence would be penury and poverty due to joblessness which is a bigger pollution, he said.
“When people argue in favour of electronic industries instead of chemical industries, they hardly give a thought to the tonnes of e-waste piling up across the globe. When people speak of electronic industry across the state, the fact is that no studies have been done on e-pollution and none know how to dispose of e-waste,” he said.
The SCTU has decided to organise a vehicle rally on August 16 and 17 and form a human chain from Eloor to Muppathadam on September 6. MPs, MLAs, trade union leaders and people’s representatives will participate. S Sasidharan, state vice-president, INTUC, presided over the function. K K Jinnas, Kadungallur panchayat president, welcomed the gathering.
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