local residents and school children from Ramakrishna School and Vidyalaya
from Vellore, Tamilnadu, put up a human chain outside the Collectorate at
Vellore, to highlight the ongoing sufferings of Vellore residents due to the
environmental pollution caused by leather tanneries in the area. Vellore is
one of the largest clusters of leather tanneries, the pollution from which
has contaminated the groundwater, ruined a river and devastated agriculture
in the entire area. A Common Effluent Treatment Plant set up to treat the
effluents from the tanneries has failed to mitigate the pollution beause of
the inherent limitations of the technology. Recently, the Supreme Court
ordered relief for the pollution impacted communities and remediation of the
environment. However, the process of assessing damage and remediating the
same has not progressed to date. On 12 November, activists from Greenpeace
and Pasumai Thaayagam blocked the outlet of a Common Effluent Treatment
Plant that has failed to mitigate the pollution problem.
On 14 November, the activists sought an audience with the Collector so that
the assembled school children and residents could present their memoranda.
The collector offered to come outside and receive the petition, and the
activists were taken to the Collector by uniformed policemen in the presence
of the gathering.
Unexpectedly, the activists have been charged with rioting and illegal
assembly. These charges are totally bizarre as their was no violence and no
unruly mob. Not only that, at midnight on 14 November, the police picked up
the Principals of the two schools were picked up and remanded in police
custody. The principals were released on 15 November.
Clearly, these charges reflect an unwillingness on the part of the
administration to countenance any democratic demand for justice and a clean
environment, and expose the dictatorial manner in which they are prepared to
use police force to intimidate residents and avoid addressing pressing
environmental problems.
TAKE ACTION:
FAX the Collector of Vellore voicing your opposition to the frivolous manner
in which pressing environmental problems are treated, and to the harassment
inflicted by the State on environmental and human rights activists.
Mr. Mohan Das,
District Collector, Vellore
Tel: 0416 2253512 or 2253516
Fax: 0416 2253034
(People from outside India can prefix the country code "91" to the numbers)
Please email a copy of the letter to:
nirmala.karunan@dialb.greenpeace.org 
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