Plans are afoot to increase the production of inland fish in the State to three lakh tonnes a year.

Presently, of the total 5.97 lakh tonnes of fish production in Tamil Nadu, inland fish production is only 1.72 lakh tonnes and marine fisheries is 4.25 lakh tonnes. To make available more fish seeds and advanced fingerlings from 7 cm to 10 cm stage, the capacity of fish hatcheries and fish-rearing centres across the State is being enhanced and additional infrastructure created. Catla, Rohu, Mrigal varieties of Indian major carp (kendai meen) and common carp are bred and reared at these centres.

Several farmers here are up in arms against the proposed Gas Authority of India Ltd project to lay a pipeline from Kochi to Bangalore via Erode district for transporting gas.

They have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government and the Gas Authority of India Ltd not to go ahead with the plan.

The farmers in a memorandum to the District Collector last evening stated that the GAIL proposed to dig trenches on agricultural lands in Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem and Dharmapuri districts to take the gas through pipelines.

The Tamil Nadu government has issued orders to upgrade two of its cement plants with an investment of around Rs 515 crore. Besides, it has sanctioned Rs 67.46 crore for Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) to set up a cement plant, which will mark the company’s foray into the sector.

Constituency development fund of MP and MLAs will be utilised to carry out the work In an attempt to meet the growing water requirement of Erode, the Corporation had decided to sink borewells in 76 places in the town.

Disclosing this at the Corporation council meeting held here on Thursday, Mayor Mallika Paramasivam said that funds received from the Constituency development fund of MP and MLAs would be used to carry out the work of sinking borewells.

The discovery of over 100 bags of toxic solid waste buried in an agricultural land near Chennimalai has shocked the farming community and environmental activists.

A team of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board officials conducted a surprise check in a textile processing unit near Chennimalai following complaints from the public and found huge amount of solid waste generated in the unit had been buried deep in a nearby agricultural land. Officials found several bags of toxic, untreated solid waste buried in the land and excavated over 100 bags from the land.

No action taken to curb the menace, say farmers. The continuous dumping of untreated, toxic effluents by the textile processing units in the Bhavani river is now threatening to become an environment disaster harming the district's agricultural sector severely.

The absence of any serious action from the district administration and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has led to the establishment of hundreds of unauthorised textile processing units along the banks of Bhavani river and the water carrying channels in Bhavani and its surrounding areas.

The detention of a lorry carrying untreated effluents from a textile processing unit in Perundurai on Sunday has once again brought to light the lack of effective mechanism in the district to prevent the processing units from dumping their waste in the water sources.

In the preliminary inquiry, it was revealed that the vehicle was used to transport toxic effluents and dump them in the Cauvery River and other water sources.
It was said that many units in Perundurai and other parts of the district were continuing the practice of transporting the untreated effluents in tankers and discharging them in the water sources.

Study in the wild to create awareness of conservation

The last significant vulture population in the Western and Eastern Ghats are threatened by the indiscriminate use of pesticides, say researchers watching vulture habitats. A team of researchers from CareEarth Arulagam has taken up a detailed study in the wild and creating awareness of conservation of these forest scavengers. The organisation has its field station located within the vulture habitat at Bhavanisagar in Erode district.

Says agriculture has been affected severely because of the imposition of power cut. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has called for the use of solar-powered farm pump sets to tide over the problem of power shortage in rural areas.

Stating that agriculture had been affected severely because of the imposition of power cut, the party, in its document on agriculture, stressed the need for tapping solar energy. Steps should be taken for the distribution of solar powered-farm pump sets at concessional rates.

Five textile dyeing and printing units in Periyasemur area on the outskirts of the city have been dismantled by the District Environmental Monitoring Committee for allegedly discharging untreated effluents into water sources and for operating without proper licence.

Committee members raided the units yesterday and found them discharging untreated toxic effluent into water sources. They also found that none of the five factories had obtained licences or the permission of the Pollution Control Board. Two units had obtained power supply by producing false records, officials said.