Chennai, June 21 (BPNS)

Political parties, social activists, and local people of Puthupatti of Tenkasi district and Paniyankurichi village in Tirunelveli district are up in arms against the dumping of waste from Kerala in their villages.

Sources in the Paniyankurichi panchayath while speaking to BPNS said,” Waste from Kerala is brought through Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari into our area. A couple of days back a truckload of waste was burnt at a farm in this panchayat leading to thick black smoke. Anganwadi schools are nearby as also Primary health centres and many people had breathing difficulties.”

Selvaraj, a local farmer told BPNS that the Tamil Nadu government should take this issue with the Kerala government and put an end to the menace of dumping waste from Kerala into the villages of Tamil Nadu.

He said, “ The waste disposed of in the open included liquor bottles and plastic waste. The discarded bottles had Malayalam letters on their labels.”

Idakkal Panchayat has already written a letter to the Tirunelveli district collector on the matter. Panchayat vice president, Dharamaraj told BPNS, “ A primary school and a silkworm rearing unit is in the area near the farm field where the waste from Kerala is dumped and burnt.”

He said that a truckload of meat waste was dumped in the Panchayat recently. Activists want strict monitoring at the Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari check posts to prevent dumping of waste in Tamil Nadu.