the saga of pollution of bhavani river and the kalingarayan canal seems to be unending. with cheap textile export - to the rich developed countries whose population increasingly seeks deals, deals and more details- on the increase, this poor region where agriculture is an important livelihood is getting smashed by daily pollution.

the pollution in these areas can be traced to several important threads. willful pollution by textile manufacturers, a sleeping tamilnadu pollution control board, americans appetite for increasingly cheap garments which forces american retailers to pressurize indian textile manufactures, almost zero penalty for the pollution and its impact, political and policy makers stressing 'development at any cost' - all are the threads that connect and cause this pollution.

it is amazing to see the courage of farmers in this erode area fighting many devils, the devil called the government which is deaf to the plight of farmers, the devil called policy makers who do not care about agricultural policy and implementation, the devil called cheap american consumer behavior and the devil called infinite tolerance for pollution by enforcement agencies.

when it comes to development, devils rule the roost.
(the abused and polluted kalingarayan canal in erode district of tamilnadu. development should be replaced with the word pollutment)