Abstract

Eloor is a small island located in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. It is one of the major manufacturing belts in Kerala. Although it provides numerous jobs to the people, it has been prone to environmental degradation due to unchecked industrialization. This research paper critically examines Eloor as an archetype of industrial pollution, in the background of India's regulatory and environmental governance failures. Once a rural area, Eloor transformed into a toxic hotspot with more than 350 industries, including government-owned giants like FACT and Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL). An ecological graveyard, Eloor houses these industries. This study, through a multidisciplinary approach-inclusion of environmental reports, and firsthand interviews, further discloses systemic failures in pollution control, accountability from corporates, and policy-mandated enforcement. Alarming levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as DDT and endosulfan, were found in models, along with contaminants such as heavy metals like mercury and cadmium, ending up in the Periyar River and other ecosystems. Findings from Greenpeace investigations (1999, 2002) indicate that effluents persistently discharge industrial wastes into surrounding environments and their bioaccumulation. All these regulations are despite India ratifying the Stockholm Convention. The health impacts of such exposure, including respiratory diseases, congenital malformations, and increased incidence of recurrent ecological disasters such as mass fish mortality, are corroborated in the interviews elicited among the surrounding people and workforces in industries. Eloor becomes the epitome of the struggle between economic growth and ecological sustainability. It demands urgent reforms in the system. Eloor is, thus, a global industrial hub cautionary tale highlighting the need for integrating ecological resilience into development paradigms.

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