Resentment is brewing in Palakkad against the government move to permit a brewery at water-starved Elappully village and a distillery at Menon Para town, a rain shadow area.
On being functional, these units, along with the four existing distilleries and one brewery functioning now, will worsen the drinking water situation in drought-prone Palakkad.
According to civil society organisations, the units will be on the Kanjikode-Walayar- Chittur industrial belt, where over a dozen water guzzling ventures are functioning.
Malampuzha water
While the liquor units are eyeing water in the Malampuzha reservoir apart from groundwater, the Indian Institute of Technology and a mega food processing park coming up at Kanjikode are also in need of water.
The government-run Wise Park and the Kinfra industrial park at Kanjikode face public resentment as many water-guzzling units function there. Pepsico India’s aerated drinks bottling unit function at Wise Park .
It is estimated that the brewery will need 10 lakh litres and the distillery about 15 lakh litres of water a day.
The move to permit the units in the region has evoked protest within the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The resentment within the party, which was involved in protests against overexploitation of groundwater by aerated drinks majors Coca-Cola and Pepsico India in Palakkad, is reflected in a statement issued by local MLA and Administrative Reforms Committee Chairman V.S. Achuthanandan.
Groundwater depletion
“The Central Water Commission and the State government have confirmed that the Malampuzha block tops Kerala in terms of groundwater depletion. The units are getting permission when people face extreme scarcity of drinking water,” said R. Ajayan, leader of the Plachimada Struggle Solidarity Committee.
Muthalamthode Mani, a leader of farmers, said the government was ignoring the ground reality in Palakkad. “This is happening when water storage in Malampuzha is facing threat from the food park and the Kinfra industrial park. Works on a pipeline carrying Malampuzha water to Kanjikode for industrial purposes are progressing despite our protests,” he said.
Though Palakkad requires 96 mld of water from Malampuzha to meet drinking water needs, only 42 mld was being released now because of scarce availability.
Last summer, the Water Resources Department imposed a 75% cut on daily quota for liquor distilleries in the region due to water shortage.
“Water guzzlers of Kanjikode include liquor units, dyeing units, steel re-rolling mills, and iron smelting units. The new units will further worsen the situation,” said environmentalist Bobban Mattumantha.