Sandalwood, tiger parts seized

Tirupur: The forest officials seized 40 kg of sandalwood, tiger teeth and claws, horns and antlers of deer and antelope from Mavadappu settlement in the Upper Aliyar area in the district on Friday evening. Five persons, including a trader from Kerala and a Siddha practitioner from Pollachi have been arrested.

District Forest Officer K. Rajkumar told TheHindu that on a tip-off, a special task force team apprehended the trader from Mannarkad in Kerala while he was loading sandalwood in his car. Three tribals who supplied the material were also arrested. A search of the car also resulted in the seizure of the tiger parts.

From THE HINDU

Child welfare committee to be established in Tirupur

To prevent trafficking and exploitation of children

Panel will have a chairperson and four members, To be selected from social workers in district.

Tirupur: The Department of Social Defence is to set up a child welfare committee in the district to ensure protection and development of children from ‘significant harm’ through institutional and out-reach programmes.

Official sources told The Hindu that the Committee, comprising Chairperson and four members, would be constituted under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2000, and its amended Act 2006 and Rules thereof.

The main role of the panel would be to tackle child trafficking and exploitation of children in the flesh trade.

The chairperson and members of the said Committee would be selected from among the social workers residing in the district.

To be selected, applicants should be actively involved in health education or welfare activities pertaining to children for at least seven years and holders of Bachelors degree from a recognized University.

“Preference will be given to people who have completed undergraduate degrees in subjects such as criminology, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, home science, education, political science, law, medicine and studies related to women and rural development,” sources said. The upper and lower age limit for selection had been fixed at 65 and 35 years.

The applications should be sent as soon as possible to the Directorate of Social Defence, 300, Purasawalkam High Road, Kellys, Chennai-10.

More details on the selection of candidates could also be obtained from the office of District Social Welfare Officer at Tirupur Collectorate (Telephone: 94430-43409).

R. Vimal Kumar – From THE HINDU

Tirupur waiting for ‘modern compost yard’

Detailed project report for the yard will be ready soon

Tirupur: Even as Tirupur grew exponentially to carve out a niche for itself in the world textile map, the city is yet to have some of the basic infrastructure needed to keep the area clean and hygienic. One of them is ‘modern compost yard’, a project that was conceptualised many years ago but did not take off owing to bureaucratic red-tapism.

No-objection certificate

Interestingly, no-objection certificate for the project had been issued by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Indian Air Force (since the yard comes 20 km within the radius of Sulur air station) a few years ago.

Because of the inordinate delay in setting up the ‘modern compost yard’ Corporation health officials are forced to dispose of the solid wastes generated at the rate of 420 tonnes a day mainly into open pits near Velliyangadu causing enormous health hazards.

In the last one year itself, residents in the nearby areas staged umpteen agitations to protest against the menace of rats, flies and foul smell owing to the indiscriminate dumping.

Anti-fly measures

Though the Corporation officials claim that they had started taking anti-fly measures and covering the wastes dumped with a layer of soil on each occasion, people refuse to see this as a permanent solution, especially with monsoon to set in soon.

Solution

“Only a ‘modern compost yard’ can provide a comprehensive solution,” they say.

The Corporation officials told The Hindu that a detailed project report for the yard would be readied soon and that it would come up on a sprawling 25-acre plot at Iduvai.

Live fencing

The facility would have land fill sites, live fencing (greenery), space for recycling the wastes into manure and resting shed for sanitary inspectors, said the officials.

“The manure produced will be sold commercially while the other inert materials be land-filled safely,” they said.

From THE HINDU

Elephant census concludes

Tirupur: The Department of Forest officials completed the elephant census in Udumalpet and Amaravathi territorial forest ranges falling under the Anamalai Tiger Reserve on Monday late evening.

Conservator of Forests H. Basvaraju told The Hindu on Tuesday that block count and line transact dung count methods were adopted to enumerate the elephants living over an expanse of 436.27 sq km in Udumalpet and Amaravathi forest ranges of the Reserve. The total area of Anamalai Tiger Reserve including Ulanthi, Pollachi, Valparai and Manombolly ranges falling in Coimbatore district, is 958 sq km.

“Simultaneously, the census was carried out in the ranges falling in Coimbatore district too,” Mr. Basvaraju said.

During the data collection, pachyderms in various age groups, members of each sex and tuskers in adult and sub-adult categories were separately enumerated.

“The final figures will be released after compilation and collation of the data obtained. It may take a month to finish the analysis of the data collected,” Mr. Basvaraju said.

Rise in population

Official sources said that there was a significant rise in the pachyderm population estimated in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve during the last few years.

“While 598 elephants are found in Anamalai Tiger Reserve area during 2007 census, it went up to 750 in 2008 census,” sources added.

R. Vimal Kumar From THE HINDU

Tirupur: 100 dyeing units get closure orders

Power supply to these units disconnected

They failed to comply with Supreme Court orders Consent order given to 13 CETPs

Tirupur: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on Friday ordered closure of 100 dyeing units in the Tirupur knitwear cluster which failed to comply with the recent Supreme Court order pertaining to pollution caused by the dyeing units on River Noyyal. The power supply to these units was also disconnected.

TNPCB District Environmental Engineer R. Kannan told The Hindu that according to the Supreme Court ruling, the units which either failed to remit the fines imposed for polluting River Noyyal or those units which were members of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) which failed to fit Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system all before January 5 evening, should be closed.

The Supreme Court verdict was pronounced after hearing the Public Interest Litigation filed by ‘Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association.’

The bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice B. S. Chauhan observed that “Undoubtedly, there has been unabted pollution by the members of Tirupur Dyeing Factory Owners Association” and hence, “they were bound to meet the expenses of removing sludge in the river as well as cleaning of Orathupalayam dam.”

The court also asked the dyeing units to carry out further operations without polluting the river anymore. The TNPCB on Friday gave the consent order to operate 13 Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) set up in the cluster which had completed fitting ZLD system in it. But not given to six others.

From THE HINDU