Mettur
Mettur
Mettur | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 53,790 |
Mettur (Tamil: மேட்டூர்) is an industrial Town municipality in Salem district in the [India] state of Tamil Nadu. It is best known for the Mettur Dam.
However in recent years it has been associated with rampant industrial polluting, with the Chennai-based Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM) arguing in their report of November 2007 for its designation as a "Critically Polluted Area". Although the Central Pollution Board is yet to respond to this arguement, the findings of The Indian People's Tribunal(IPT) in 2005 and the chemical tests performed by a United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)-approved laboratory in Oregon, USA make this one of the most pressing environmental issues in South India.[1]
Mettur-Aluminium City of Tamilnadu
Mettur, meaning 'town with crests and troughs', obtained its name owing to the undulating rocky naure of the land that makes the town an ideal place for the DAM on Cauvery river the life line of north and central Tamil Nadu. Stanley Reservoir.
Mettur is located at border of the Erode, Salem and Dharmapuri districts and equidistant from the district headquarters and about three hours by road from these district headquarters.
Palamalai (malai means hill in local lingo) is an offshoot of the Eastern Ghats geographically contiguous with the BR hills range as they reach out to merge with the Western Ghats at Nilgiris.
Economy
Mettur has a number of industries; an important one is Mettur Chemicals (Now known as Chemplast) which has four large plants manufacturing Chemicals, Soaps, Industrial gases among others and sadly one of the worst polluters of the neighbourhood, MALCO (Madras Aluminium Company) which also runs a Matriculation and Higher secondary School, SISCOL (Southern Iron and Steel Company Limited, The company has been now taken up by Jindal groups) is a new addition to the region though it's located a little off Mettur. SISCOL is located at Pottaneri,15 KM's from Mettur and 32 KM's from Salem the district Headquarters.
And SAIL's Salem Steel plant is not very far off either. Add to that the High grade Granite quarried in the Eli karadu hills that is in great demand overseas.
The town has a thermal power station (840 MW) while the Hydel station
Industrial Pollution
Mettur's industrial development has taken a heavy toll on many parts of its farming and fishing communities. However despite protest from both international groups such as Greenpeace and locals such as West Gonur Farmers' Association or SpeakOut Salem! the local authorities have failed to bring the problems under control.
Recent Chemical Analysis
Recent tests undertaken by Dr Ruth Stringer and Dr Mark Chernaik of ELAW-US (an Oregon-based environmental laboratory) revealed truly shocking levels of contamination.
From 7 samples taken from aroung the plants run by Chemplast and MALCO the following 17 chemicals were found to be at levels significantly above US EPA 'safe' levels.
These included:
| Name | Sample Site | Value | No of times above standard | Carcinogen? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chloroform ug/L | 9 | 10,100 | 1771 | NO |
| Vinyl Chloride ug/L | 7 | 164 | 546 | YES |
| Tetrechloroethane ug/L | 9 | 55.60 | 327 | YES |
| Bis(2-chloroethyl)ether ug/L | 7 | 136 | 257 | YES |
| Methylene Chloride ug/L | 9 | 1,140 | 248 | YES |
| Hexachlorobenzene ug/kg | 4 | 819 | 215 | YES |
| Mercury mg/kg | 4 | 34.90 | 190 | NO |
| 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene ug/kg | 6 | 1290 | 161 | NO |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane ug/L | 7 | 1260 | 82 | YES |
| 1,4 Dichlorobenzene ug/kg | 6 | 2080 | 67 | YES |
| 1,2-Dichlorobenzene ug/L | 7 | 2460 | 65 | NO |
| 1,1,2-Trichloroethane ug/L | 9 | 33.60 | 57 | YES |
| Trichloroethane ug/L | 9 | 22.20 | 38 | NO |
| Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate ug/kg | 6 | 5020 | 10 | YES |
| Hexachlorobutadiene ug/kg | 4 | 164 | 4.2 | YES |
| Benzene ug/L | 8 | 7.76 | 3.5 | YES |
| Chlorobenzene ug/kg | 6 | 949 | 1.15 | NO |
Geography
Mettur is located at 11°48′N 77°48′E / 11.80°N 77.80°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 153 metres (501 feet).
Mettur can be divided into upper and lower Mettur based on whether the part of the town lies upstream or downstream of the river.
The town houses the Stanley reservoir, which is a standing example of British stone masonry and the [[dam] extends a little less than a Kilometer in length. The reservoir capacity touches 120 feet, when full and could go few feet beyond its full capacity during surplus seasons.
The town is hemmed to a narrow strip of less than a kilometer (The Dam's length) in width by the cauvery let out by the Dam on the east and Eli karadu (Mouse hill) on the west which forms an interesting pattern of three similar peaks with identical longer shoulders to their left increasing in height from the Dam's crest level about a 1000 ft from sea level in the north to about 4000 ft peak in the Pallamalai.
Local Legend
Neringipettai is about 4km from the heart of Mettur at the foot of palamalai, the hills almost reachout to the river with just the State Highway from mettur to Erode between the river and the hills.
Pannavadi parisal thurai near Kolathur is located 12 km far from Mettur. There is a boat transportation in between the Kolathur and Nerupur of dharmapuri district. The boat transportation also available from koattaiyur it is 20 km far from mettur. While the water level decreases in Mettur dam we can able to see an Old Nandhi statue, an old church, a palace (Koattai) of Tippu Sultan which was sinked inside the water. It is nearer to Koattaiyur and Pannavadi, we can travel by fisherman's boat from any of the place mentioned.
This was the place where Virappan the notorious for his exploits in the extinction of Sandalwood and Tuskers in the whole forest regions straddling about 2000 SQ KM raging from Anaimalai to Hogenakkal spread across the three sates Tamil nadu kerala and Karnataka once gave a slip to the law enforcers while they were chasing him from Salem Government Hospital where he had ended a Deputy superintendent of police life after the later was admitted with serous injuries from a land mine planted by Veerapan.
By the way now that he is finally killed (no one believes that he was killed in an encounteras is claimed by the special police more agreed theory is like drug him and riddle him with bullet holes to fake it). It will make a good trekking route.
What to see
There are several undiscovered Trekking routes (the ones that Veerappan - a local bandit trod not so long ago) through the canopy of the dense foliage that completely blocks the tropical summer sun. The trek to the top would take not less than 6 hours. Campers should carry tents and supplies if planning to camp overnight. Whole Jackfruits will be sold for Rs.2 (two Indian ruppees) by the hill dwellers. You might be lucky to run into the path of a herd of wild elephants or the sandalwood saplings that are getting dense again. An occasional [Black Panther]] or leopard may not be nice to you though. Qualified guides may be hard to find, try asking the local tourism office in the town Square. Overall, it would be an exciting trekking experience.
The Traveller's bungalows and local motels can hold their own if you plan to stay in town.
On the other side of the Cauvery river is the Thermal powerstation and behind the power station is the the Sitha malai range. Hogennakkal falls where Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu from Karnataka would be a nice place to visit from Mettur.
Mahadeswaran Malai is about 60km to the west of the Dam located in the winding road with treacherous hairpin bends enroute Mysore is a popular pilgrimage location and madeswaran is a popular name among locals.
Festivals/famous pilgrimage centers
Thanga Malai Murugan temple within the town is a local attraction during festivals.
Villagers in Mettur celebrate the Mariamman festival during the summer vacation time and lasts for one whole week.
When to go
Aadi perukku is the time to be in Mettur, when you can see the large rural folks offering Goats, Pigs and Chicken to their diety Munnaiappan by the river side. Aadi perukku is the time when the sluice gates are thrown open to let the water out to the farmers down stream for their agricultural iriation.
You will get to savour some delicious berikai (Country pears) and Steamed Corn and the fresh catch of the day straight from the river from the local fishermen some with one maimed forearm lost from the wrist in the act of trying to deftly lob a small locally made grenade to stun the fish to the surface and the occasional fuse ending up too short. Its a delicate balance and risky way to make a living as the right length of the fuse is hard to maintain, too long another pricey grenade drowned in water, too short another fisherman with nothing to show after the wrist.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[3] Mettur had a population of 53,790. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Mettur has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 66%. In Mettur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Education
Mettur has several vocational training institutes - Kaveri Polytechnic, Kaveri Engineering College, Govt. Arts and Science College and high Schools - Malco Vidyalaya, MAM, Valluvar Vasuki, GV, Ramesh Vidhyashram, Govt. HSS, Mettur, Vaidheeswara, GHSS Pudusampalli Schools.
Engineering students would find that Mettur has a lot to offer in providing them an insight into Manufacturing through industrial tour's of the many industries and Power plants and Barrages to look up to.
Getting There
Mettur being close to the transportation hubs of Salem and Erode is well connected to both these cities as well as to Dharmapuri. Bus services operate from Salem at the most frequency, with bus services once in every 5 minutes.
Some areas where improvement is required
1. The town lacks a railway station. 2. Good colleges.
References
[1] www.Mettur.com