Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Probe ordered, PCB report sought

PATHANAMTHITTA: The State government has sought a clarification from the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) on the use of contaminated ferrous chloride, a byproduct generated by an Aluva-based private company, for direct treatment of water in the Njunangar stream, a tributary of the Pampa, for the past two years.

In a letter to the Member Secretary of the board, Dinesh Arora, Chief Health Coordinator for Sabarimala and State Director, National Rural Health Mission, said the disposal of chemical waste on the pretext of water treatment was alarming and could be a serious health hazard. Dr. Arora sought a detailed report from the board within a week.

Dr. Arora told The Hindu that the presence of heavy metals in the Pampa, the lifeline of central Kerala, could lead to alarming health problems.

The government would initiate steps to check any more dumping of the contaminated chemical waste.

Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran directed the Chief Engineer (Irrigation and Administration) to inquire into the dumping of the chemical and submit a detailed report to the government soon.

Mr. Premachandran told The Hindu that the board was supposed to initiate pollution control measures.

He had directed the Chief Engineer to see if the water treatment had the consent of the irrigation wing of the Water Resources Department.

Various environmental groups called upon the government to conduct a scientific study on the impact of using contaminated ferrous chloride for directly treating water in the stream.

Eloor Purushan, environmentalist, said it was ironic that the contaminated ferrous chloride, which was found hazardous by a monitoring committee appointed by Supreme Court of India for the Periyar, had now become eco-friendly for treating water in the rivers.

Mr. Purushan and V.N. Gopinatha Pillai, general secretary of the Manimalayar Samrakshana Samithi (protection committee), alleged that certain high-level quarters in the Pollution Control Board and the Travancore Devaswom Board were involved in the “conspiracy to facilitate disposal of factory waste into the Pampa in the name of water treatment.”

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