Kitex: VS asks government to form impartial probe panel

Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan has asked the state government to form an impartial committee to probe the allegations of pollution caused by the Kitex Garments factory at Kizhakkambalam. “The committee should comprise the District Collector, representatives from the Labour Department and  the Kizhakkambalam panchayat. If needed the number of members can be increased to five,”  Achuthanandan said. He was speaking to mediapersons at the Guest House here after  holding talks with the Kitex management and employees and paying a visit to the factory on Sunday.

 He termed the discharge of effluents from the factory to the Periyar valley canal and paddy fields in the neighbourhood and the charge of the residents that they can’t live at the place because of pollution as the crux of the issue.

After getting the report from the committee the issue should be solved amicably. The company management and the employees have agreed to the decision, he said.

 Regarding the responsibility entrusted to the District Collector to submit a report about the issue in two weeks, VS said that it should be done by a committee comprising more members and there is no point in asking the Collector alone to study and submit the report, he said. 

While mentioning about the company’s plan to abandon its expansion projects and move out of the state he said that the entry and exit of the company is a matter to be considered at a later stage.

 Kitex managing director Sabu M Jacob said that it is sad that a company is forced to shift from the state owing to the problems created by the local politicians. However, Kizhakkambalam panchayat president Jolly Baby said that V S Achuthanandan has stated  nothing against the panchayat. She told ‘Express’ that they are waiting for the report of the Collector. Though a meeting of the panchayat council is convened on Monday, Kitex issue is not in the agenda, she added.

 Earlier, hundreds of employees gathered to welcome the Opposition Leader when he paid a visit to the Kitex factory. Achuthanandan had spent nearly an hour at the factory along with CPM leaders M V Govindan and K Chandran Pillai.