Honourable Minister, can you spend a day in Kattippara?
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In various parts of the Kattippara, Thamarassery, Kodanchery, and Omassery panchayats of Kozhikode district, hundreds of families have been enduring severe hardship due to pollution caused by Fresh Cut, a private waste management plant located at Ambayathode in Kattippara, Thamarassery. For the past five years, residents have been protesting against the contamination that has affected the air they breathe, the water they drink, and even the soil beneath their feet. The issue has become one that threatens the health and peaceful lives of the people, prompting leaders and supporters from both ruling and opposition parties to join the agitation under the leadership of the Janakeeya Samithi (People’s Committee). However, on Tuesday, the protest took an unexpected turn when some from the crowd resorted to violence and arson, incidents unlike anything seen during the years-long struggle. Police have filed a case against around 400 people, naming a local elected representative, who also serves as the DYFI block secretary, as the first accused. Reports shared by journalists who visited the area after the clash paint a deeply distressing picture. Residents of Karimbalakunnu, a locality on the banks of the Iruvazhanjippuzha River near the waste treatment plant, are living in extreme misery. While the region had been relatively free of major health problems five years ago, today respiratory illnesses and skin diseases have become widespread. In many homes, nebulisers and oxygen machines have become essential, and even young children are forced to use inhalers. Because of the persistent noxious odour, even close relatives hesitate to visit families living there, and no one is willing to marry off their daughters into the area.
Residents say that even if they wanted to sell their land and move elsewhere, their property in the area has few takers because of the stench. The river has become completely polluted, and people’s mental health is deteriorating as a result. In short, since the Fresh Cut plant began operations in 2019, the constitutional right to live with dignity has effectively been taken away from nearly 4,000 families. This is the only poultry waste treatment plant operating in Kozhikode district, whereas in other district several such facilities exist. Locals allege that the plant, which has an approved capacity of 20 tonnes per day, processes nearly five times that amount of poultry waste. They question the fairness of forcing one community to bear the burden and suffering caused by waste brought from across the entire district, instead of exploring decentralised waste management options. The residents have repeatedly submitted petitions to the Chief Minister, the Human Rights Commission, and other authorities. The Legislative Assembly's Environment Committee had visited the area in 2023, conducted an inquiry, and submitted a report, but no action followed. Earlier this year, in March, the local panchayat council rejected the company’s application to renew its license. However, the plant continued operations based on a special order issued by the district administration.
Residents noted that during the brief period when the plant’s operations were halted, the stench and pollution had subsided significantly. Yet, the Local Self-Government Department’s Principal Directorate later directed the panchayat to renew the license with certain conditions, which reignited public protests. There have since been growing calls for an independent and thorough investigation into how Tuesday’s peaceful protest suddenly turned violent. Protesters allege that the situation escalated after police used excessive force including baton charges and tear gas, to clear the way for a vehicle belonging to the plant. These claims, they insist, must also be properly examined. However, the statement made by North Zone DIG Yathish Chandra who alleged that protesters had used women and children as human shields has been widely condemned by locals, who described it as a malicious attempt to discredit and suppress the movement. Following the DIG’s remarks, police reportedly began night raids and house-to-house checks in Karimbalakunnu, further heightening fear among residents. “We were already struggling to breathe because of the pollution; now we have to deal with police harassment too,” locals said.
Meanwhile, the ruling party has begun labelling the protest as being driven by vested interests, with some suggesting that the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is behind the agitation — a tactic is often used to discredit popular movements. Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh, who has antecedents of having led several student and youth protests himself, maintained that this was not a genuine people’s agitation but one that had been infiltrated by “disruptive elements.” For years, the people of this region have been crying out for their basic right to live, yet the minister heading the department that approved the plant, disregarding the panchayat’s objections, had remained silent, not caring even to utter a word of empathy. Now, that silence has finally been broken. Regardless of who may have infiltrated the protest which is beside the merit of the issue, the fact remains that it was the authorities, including the minister, who allowed the situation to deteriorate this far by dismissing the residents’ grievances and ignoring their right to a safe and healthy life. If the minister truly feels any sense of responsibility toward the people, residents ask whether he could spend even a single day or even an hour in a home near the plant without being overcome by the unbearable stench. They further question whether he can claim to be doing justice to his position while staying silent against those who pollute the soil and make human lives miserable.