Kozhikode: The department of industries, ground water and Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials will organise an awareness programme in Muchukunnu near Koyilandy on April 17 to stamp out the fear of pollution over the coming of a battery assembling unit in the area. This decision was taken at the meeting between the district collector and Moodady gram panchayat officials on Saturday.
According to Moodady gram panchayat president Sheeja Pattery, the panchayat has no role in the matter as the Orion battery unit will come up at the SIDCO industrial park in Muchukunnu which the government had leased out for 90 years.
“The company does not require any permission from us. But we apprised officials of the widespread concern of people and hence an awareness programme has been organised at the Government College Muchukunnu at 2.30 pm,” she said. But the action committee has decided to oppose the project tooth and nail. “Irrespective of manufacturing or assembling, we will not permit an industry based on lead battery as it would contaminate our land, water sources and lives,” affirms Vineesh. A.T, the joint convenor of the action council.
The council had submitted a written statement to this effect to the district Collector. According to Vineesh, the public were genuinely concerned that the company had changed its earlier project of battery manufacturing unit to assembling unit just to dupe protesters. “Once the assembling unit gets started they can easily change it to a manufacturing one,” he pointed out. The protest against Orion Company started in 2015 demanding it stop its activities. Earlier, citing an RTI reply, the protesters’ had raised the concern that the company would produce two lakh lead acid batteries a day and for that purpose, 6500 litres of water would be sucked out.
“The raw materials for the unit is lead, lead oxide and red lead which would harm the environment,” alleged Vineesh. It was following widespread protests that Orion changed the project. Orion Automotive and Tubular Batteries Chairman M.P Babu says that the protest was unwarranted and baseless. “We have the nod of the Pollution Control Board, SIDCO and the single-window clearance,” Babu says. He added that the project envisioned only assembling of battery, charging and selling them.
