Kerala - Kochi   

Discoloured Periyar triggers scare

K.P.M. Basheer

Discharge of effluents suspected

KOCHI: The discoloured waters of the Periyar flowed upstream from the Paathaalam Bund at Eloor on Wednesday, triggering a scare in the Eloor-Edayar region that the chemically-contaminated water might get into the drinking water system through the local pumping station and possibly even the water supply system in the entire Kochi region.

The Ernakulam district administration asked the Kerala Water Authority to be extremely vigilant against the possibility and to stop pumping from the Periyar if there were grounds to suspect contamination. Health officials were asked to be on guard too.

Local residents alleged that the clandestine dumping of industrial effluents in the river by some factories in the area on the Onam night caused the discolouration. Because of the tidal effect, the water flowed back from the Paathaalam Bund and got mixed with the river water in the upstream section from where the Water Authority collects water through its Elookkara pumping station for supply to people in the Alangad, Karumaloor and Kadungalloor panchayats.

`Cruel act'

"This is a very cruel act," said environmental activist Purushan Eloor, who has been fighting against dumping of hazardous industrial effluents in the river for a long time.

"The Government and the Pollution Control Board (PCB) should take stern action against whatever company has committed this mindless crime."

Residents in the Paathaalam area noticed early this morning that the water had turned brownish grey and that it was flowing backwards from the Paathaalam Bund a couple of kilometres upstream.

Since the bund, created to stonewall the tidal waters and also to prevent the effluents dumped in the river by the nearby factories getting mixed with the water body upstream, had collapsed, the contaminated water washed back upstream.

`Taking advantage of holidays'

The residents said that the factories in the Eloor-Edayar area in the past used to dump effluents in the river during long holidays, such as Onam, Christmas and Id. However, because of the increased vigilance of the local people and monitoring by Government agencies and environmental groups, such dumping had been rare in the recent past.

They suspected that the offending factory had taken advantage of the relaxed vigilance during the Onam, and that the tidal waves carried the waste back upstream. .

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