Eloor, a small island on the Periyar River in southern India, used to have rich farmland and be teeming with fish. Now, a stench of putrid flesh permeates the air and most of the fish are gone. Residents say that is because of some 300 chemical companies operating in the area. The state Pollution Control Board has downplayed the industrial pollution in the Periyar River, blaming it on sewage from homes, commercial institutions and markets upstream. But residents, who long ago stopped eating the fish, say there is no doubt about the cause of the pollution and are trying to get authorities to crack down on companies dumping waste in the river.