Environmental disasters... the price for our growth? Or can we be more aware and prevent such things?
Bhupendra ChaubeyCNN-IBNEloor: Located near the industrial city of Kochi, Eloor is the biggest industrial belt in the state and is well known for its chemical factories.
However, the industrial estate – home to 240 factories and once the state’s pride - has become a curse for people living there.
Sixty-year-old Lakshmikutty, a resident of Eloor, suffers from eye cancer. Doctors say years of smoke and pollutants spit out by chemical factories in the area are responsible for this.
Till now she has undergone four sessions of radiation therapy to cure her eye cancer. However, due to financial crunch, she has to stop her treatment midway.
"I had to even mortgage my house and property to conduct the operation. But it has been of little use. Now I have given up all hope," Lakshmikutty said.
Lakshmi is not alone. There are 51 others like her in Eloor Panchayat suffering various forms of cancer. In fact, 13 people have succumbed to air-borne diseases in the last 10 years.
"We found that lot of diseases were increasing at an alarming pace in the area. Cancer, asthma and bronchitis have risen to an alarming level," Eco activist of GreenPeace, V J Jose says.
Eloor's plight was first highlighted in 1999, when a study by environment NGO GreenPeace revealed the extent of pollution in the area.
Even after the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee called Eloor a flashpoint in 2002, there has been little action.
"Untreated effluents from industries which are situated on the either banks of the river Periar have been dumping industrial waste in to the river. There has been absolutely no control over these industries," Eco Activist P K Ibrahim says.
Meanwhile, for Laksmikutty and others, life is a painful reality and justice just a mirage.
(With inputs from Naveen Nair)
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