Residents of Rasampalayam in Erode have threatened to organise a protest on July 1, 2025, condemning the alleged discharge of effluents into the Pichaikaran Pallam stream.
J. Gopalakrishnan, district secretary of the Tamilaga Makkal Nala Katchi, said that over 20 dyeing, bleaching, and printing units operate along the banks of the stream, continuously discharging untreated effluents into it. He pointed out that the stream eventually flows into the Cauvery river, thereby spreading pollution to other districts.
To facilitate this illegal discharge, around two lakh black stones were reportedly used to create a channel guiding the effluents from Periyasemur to Rasampalayam, he alleged. Despite repeated complaints demanding the removal of the illegal channel, no action has been taken so far by the district administration, the Erode Corporation, or the officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, he claimed.
Gopalakrishnan said a petition was also submitted to the District Collector on June 23, 2025, urging the removal of the black stone channel, but no steps have been taken yet. To draw the State government’s attention to the issue, a protest will be staged by residents by entering the stream on July 1, he said, adding that social activists, environmentalists, and various organisations will participate in the same.