Textile dyeing unit operators and exporters in Tamil Nadu are upset. An integrated dyeing park was to have come up at Punnam in Karur district but the plan has been scrapped owing to an agitation by locals who feared an adverse  environmental impact.Exporters say Karur will experience negative industrial growth if plansfor the park are stalled. They have promised to demonstrate thepollution control aspects and adhere to zero liquid discharge normsbesides promising that the stakeholder would ensure that no ecological
disturbances would result. 

But authorities say industrial effluents are being dumped in the river Amaravathy’s bed and that many dyeing units have subverted the law to operate outside the ambit of pollution control norms. And pinning down the culprits wasn’t easy. Meanwhile the dyeing operators have been asked to find an alternative site and also convince locals of their genuine intentions. 

Around 150 acres were earmarked for the establishment of the integrated dyeing park. The project invited stiff opposition from locals as about 50,000 acres of farm lands were perceived to be under threat. Locals feared contamination of the water bodies, ground water and agricultural lands.