Hit by the indiscriminate discharge of industrial effluents, the farmers in Arulpuram, Pachamkuttaplayam, and a few other hamlets have threatened to quit agriculture. “We will have to hold agitations for getting rehabilitation package if the situation continues in this manner as our repeated pleas to authorities pointing out the unabated discharge of dyeing effluents into the open have not been looked into seriously,” they said. “Due to percolation, groundwater in the area is heavily polluted affecting irrigation potential of the farmers,” P. Suresh, a coconut and vegetable farmer in the area, told The Hindu . Representation On Monday, the farmers from the area gave a representation on the issue to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and expressed their displeasure over the way the untreated dyeing effluents still find its way into the open despite the claims of dyers adhering to the Madras High Court directives pertaining to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) norms in the effluent treatment process. K.C.M. Balasubramanian, a progressive farmer and retired agriculture economist from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said the issue of pollution caused by the dyeing units in the area had been raised umpteen times in the farmers’ grievance redress meetings conducted by Collector but they did not get permanent solution to the problem. “Lack of will from the administrators’ part to end the pollution is the main reason for the continuing violations,” he said. Agrarian community in the affected hamlets pointed out that polluted groundwater had stunted the growth of crops. “Buying good quality water from outside in large quantities to irrigate the crops is economically not feasible,” Mr. Suresh said adding that only time the farmers in the area reap good yield was during rainy spells which too had become scarce in the last two years. The farmers were of the opinion that the common effluent treatment plants in the region should be immediately inspected in a fair manner.