Officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) demolished 12 illegal dyeing units near Pallipalayam in Tiruchengode Taluk on Monday. The drive was carried out from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during which two winches, three oil engines and 72 masonry tanks that were used for manual dyeing were removed in the units located at Samayasangili, Cauvery Nagar, Avathipalayam and Pallipalayam close to River Cauvery. District Environmental Engineer (DEE) M. Murugesan told The Hindu that all these units were functioning in agricultural lands and they were identified during a survey that was conducted by their team recently. “The outflow of effluents from the unit in Samayasangili was so high that it filled a check dam on the way to River Cauvery”, Mr. Murugesan said. He said that the remaining 11 units were letting effluents into River Cauvery directly and through drains connecting the river. The eviction drive that was carried out on Monday was the first to be carried out against illegal dyeing units in Namakkal district after a gap of more than three months. The previous drive was conducted on April 3 and 4 in and around Komarapalayam areas in Tiruchengode Taluk.