Suffocating every night in Kasaragod, and zero media coverage.
Hey everyone,
Posting here because we’re genuinely out of options and this issue is getting zero attention outside our district. As usual, it feels like once an issue happens in Kasaragod, nobody in mainstream media or the political space cares to look past Kozhikode or Kannur.
For months now, thousands of people living across a 4 to 5 km radius around the Ananthapuram, a small village in Kasaragod have been dealing with a suffocating, nauseating chemical smell. It’s not just a mild odor, a smell so dense that you literally wake up in the middle of the night feeling choked. Elderly folks and kids in our neighborhood are struggling with headaches, nausea, and severe throat irritation. A few of us escalated this to the authorities, pollution control board, who actually did an inspection and confirmed that a oil recycling unit there had a broken plant, inefficient air scrubbers, and was storing hazardous waste barrels in the open. They issued a temporary stop memo.You’d think that fixes it, right? But it didn't.
The moment daytime ends, the heavy chemical stench returns under the cover of darkness. Either they’re running clandestine night shifts knowing officials aren't patrolling, or another unit in the estate is doing the exact same thing unchecked. Nobody here is anti-development or against industries. We desperately want jobs, investment, and industrial growth in Kasaragod too. But there is a massive difference between genuine development and cutting corners on basic air scrubbers to save money while poisoning the local air.
The only reason why I'm posting here is because, if anyone here has contacts in media, handles local reporting, or knows how to get state-level traction on industrial violations, please share your thoughts. Any visibility helps at this point. Before it snowballs into something which will make serious health issues, it should be addressed and fixed. We are talking about a place with a tragic past of negligence. I hope we aren't heading toward another health catastrophe.
Thanks.
Tldr - A hazardous industrial unit in Kasaragod's Ananthapuram is releasing highly toxic, suffocating chemical fumes. Pollution control board found their air scrubbers broken and issued a stop memo, but the problem is still not fixed. Need media visibility before this becomes another health crisis due to state neglect.