Land has turned barren though there's water aplenty. And it can't even quench their thirst. If this was the pathetic story so far of the villages along the
Noyyal river, the worst has befallen downstream in the boomtown of
Tirupur - infertility is staring the villagers in the face. Fishes floating along the river because of discharge of toxic
industrial waste and attendant loss of agriculture. What
rattles the villagers more is the increasing rate of infertility among
men and women and its social consequences. Not surprisingly, there is a surge in the rural populace approaching
fertility clinics which have mushroomed in Erode, Tirupur, Karur and
Coimbatore districts. There are about 30 hospitals in Erode and Tirupur -
the worst affected by water pollution because of effluent discharge
from dyeing and bleaching units. "We are witnessing a significant rise in the number of men and women
coming for infertility treatment from the areas next to the Noyyal.
Environmental degradation is a major cause of this," Dr Nirmala
Sadasivam, a specialist in IVF treatment, said.
"We were taken aback when 210 couples were found with fertility
disorder at a medical camp as late as 2009 in Karur. All of them were
from the villages downstream," the doctor added, claiming that the sperm
count in the region had come down to 40 million from the earlier 120
million. Urging the government to make efforts to reclaim the land and the
river, she disclosed "30 to 40 couples visit our hospital daily". Dr S. Dhanabagiyam, another popular IVF specialist in Tirupur,
carried out a study of the region. Her research revealed that an
alarming 80 per cent of impotence cases were a result of water
pollution. "High water contamination," she said, "reduces sperm count,
while in women it creates ovarian complications and hormonal changes,
leading to loss of oestrogen as well as abortions." Her hospital was recently in the news for the birth of 26 babies on a
single day to couples treated for infertility from all over India. A visit to these villages downstream Noyyal found many elders lamenting about the growing incidence of impotence.
"Our youth are shunned in the marriage market. Word about impotence
in these areas has spread. There is growing apprehension about sterility
coupled with worry over the loss of livelihood. Our women too face this
problem as the frequency of conception has come down drastically," T.
C. Duraisamy, 56, former panchayat president of Thammareddypalayam, a
fertile village now desertified, bemoaned. The villagers initially believed the problem was confined to cattle.
"As a boy, I saw our milch animals, especially cows, yielding a minimum
of 10 calves. It is not the case nowadays and has had a cascading effect
on the local economy. Most farmers have taken to making charcoal," he
said.
Farmer-turned-shepherd Nachimuthu Gounder, 52, also complained:
"First the land turned barren and then it (water pollution) caught up
with the cattle. Now, we've become the victims." The malaise is not confined to a few areas but is prevalent in over
71 revenue villages with a population of nearly 2 lakh spread across the
three districts of Tirupur, Karur and Erode, through which the Noyyal
river passes. A detailed study by an academic had revealed in 2003 that water
pollution had given rise to over 60 per cent of ailments such as skin
diseases, respiratory problems and gastritis.
"Infertility accounts for 40 per cent of health disorders in the
pollution-hit villages. We have been pressing the government to carry
out a scientific study. We are tired of submitting petitions from the
district collector to the CM. But nothing has happened," said V.
Ramasamy, adviser to the Noyyal farmers' forum which took up the
over-a-decade-long legal battle against the polluting industries. The irony, however, is that the residents of most villages are
turning to Tirupur for employment. "It is a classic case of the victim
turning to the perpetrator for succour," Ramasamy added.
Farming and allied activities were thriving in these villages,
surrounded by coconut and mango groves, barely two decades ago. Even now
they have electric pump-sets for their wells but nothing grows with the
water. If at all anything is grown, it is maize and that too when the
rain comes. After the Madras High Court directive in November 2010, effluent
discharge from the dyeing and bleaching units, numbering over 700 in
Tirupur, had almost come to an end. "But the level of water pollution
has not come down and there is no effort to resolve the problem,"
Ramasamy said.
According to a recent study, 2,300-2,500 total dissoluble solids
(TDS) still make up the water. If the number crosses 500, the water
becomes unfit for drinking and above 1,500 TDS, it can't be used for
farming, he pointed out. Despite pollution plaguing the region for over a decade, the
government has not conducted any study on health disorders. The affected
districts have no data on the spurt in certain diseases. "We will certainly look into the demand for a health survey.
Proactive steps would be initiated and if any work has been carried out
earlier, it will be given thrust," was all that Erode collector V.K.
Shanmugham said.
