Discharge of effluents from leather tanneries sparks pollution concern

Ambur is better known for its homemade biryanis since the Carnatic years of the 18th century. Small sized seeraga samba rice used in these biryanis were once cultivated in farming villages along the banks of Palar in this riverside town before untreated effluents from leather tanneries discharged illegally into the river, turned paddy fields into barren lands.

Biryanis are still cooked in the kitchens of houses, eateries, and a chain of restaurants in this busy town. But its key ingredient, rice, comes from the faraway Arani town in Tiruvannamalai, known as a rice bowl in the region, for biryanis made in the town. “Ambur could be visualised only through its mouthwatering biryanis. Traditionally, rice used for the meal was cultivated in the region with farmers pumping water from the river through a series of water channels before pollution of groundwater by effluents ruined it,” said E. Suresh Babu, a former ward councilor of Ambur municipality.