Coimbatore: Thanks to the authorities who sealed the illegal brick kiln units at Chinna Thadagam, Sheila Chandran and her husband Swaminathan, residing on Thadagam Road, are painting their two houses after 11 years.
“There was no point painting them earlier, because the walls would be covered in red dust and black soot minutes after painting,” says Sheila. The couple hopes that the kilns stay shut at least till the painting job is complete.
The couple is among the thousands of residents, living in the five villages — Pannimadai, Chinna Thadagam, Somaiyampalayam, Veerapandi and Thadagam — who are relieved that the kilns have closed.
M Satheeshwari, who runs a tea stall and snack house on Thadagam Road, serving three of the largest kilns in Somaiyampalayam, says she has not worn a mask for the past two weeks despite the Covid-19 threat. “I wore masks every day for 20 years, not because of any virus, but to protect myself from the dust and smoke from the kilns. I have had wheezing episodes at least twice requiring hospitalization and coughs, forcing me to use masks. For the past 10 days, I have been able to breathe clean air.”
“After the kilns were closed, I have no customers or contact with people, to fear Covid,” Satheeshwari adds.
M Muthukumar, a foundry employee and resident of Thiruvalluvar Nagar, says the locality has been dust-free for the first time since his birth. “During summers, it’s hard to live here. Red dust forms on our vehicles, on clothes in our kitchens and on dining tables.”
Clothes hung out to dry turned black or dark red, says Sheila. “It was becoming impossible to live here due to wheezing issues, headaches and dry coughs. It got worse when the kilns burnt cashew shells and coconut tree.”
However, the dust and smoke-free air has come at a price. M Satheeshwari who had been running a tea stall with her older son Balaganesh for the last 10 years, plans to close it. “Many labourers who had accounts with me have run off to their villages without settling my account, making me lose Rs 50,000.”
Balaganesh now plans to start a bike repair shop or join a workshop. He is not the only youngster in the area who has to hunt for a job. D Narendhiran had quit an IT job in Bengaluru to manage his uncle’s bakery at Thaneerpandhal, that made Rs 4 lakh a month. He now plans to return to the IT sector, because the bakery, without business from kilns, makes only Rs50,000 a month. “We had daily orders from kilns for tea and snacks. Several contractors, plumbers, maintenance staff and lorry drivers who visited the kilns, used to eat at our bakery,” he adds.
Vaasu Swaminathan, who used to earn Rs 15,000 a month working as a loadman for a company supplying firewood to the kilns, has been jobless for the last three weeks. “We have some savings but will have to borrow from relatives soon,” he rues. At least one lakh people living in the locality, including labourers, drivers, masons, plumbers, wood cutters and loadmen like him have lost jobs or livelihoods due to the sealing, because there is no other local industry in the area, he adds.