Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

“Prevent pollution of Uyyakondan river”

— Photo: R. Ashok

Spoilsport: An open drain flowing into the Uyyakondan near Palakkarai in Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: The Rs.253.71-crore flood control project has thrown up an opportunity for the Corporation to clean up the Uyyakondan River, which is fast turning into Tiruchi’s very own Cooum owing to the pollution caused to it by sewage and effluent discharge from households, commercial establishments and industries.

The Public Works Department, the executing agency of the project, has decided to construct retaining walls along a seven-km stretch of the river across the city, between Puthur and Ariyamangalam. The work is expected to begin after the current irrigation season.

The Corporation, some residents feel, should make use of this opportunity to prevent the flow of sewage and ensure that all drains that were flowing into the river were connected to the underground sewer system.

The river, which takes its flow from the Cauvery River, cuts across Tiruchi and takes a blackish hue on the city stretch. Over 60 per cent of the river’s course that traverses about 69 km between Pettavaithalai and Vazhavanthankottai tank is being subjected to heavy urban pollution. The river has an ayacut area of over 32,000 acres and feeds 36 tanks.

The Corporation has been turning a blind eye to the problem and has even facilitated the flow of drains by constructing open drains with outlets into the river. Sources say that major open drains flow into the river in at least 11 places between Cantonment and Ariyamangalam, apart from innumerable small drains. These include the entire flow from open drains in the Central Bus Stand and Railway Junction area (where most of the hotels were located). A major drain is let into the river near the Iyyappan Temple at Cantonment. Drains from the K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College area flow into the river on the other side.

The terrain of the region makes the river a convenient drain for sewage flow. Open drains carry discharges not only from households, but also hotels and commercial establishments at Cantonment, Palakkarai and Ariyamangalam.

Conduit pipes can be seen conveying sewage from individual households and hospitals between Cantonment and Palakkarai. A large number of households in these thickly populated areas are not connected to the underground drainage system. Further downstream, effluents from industries, along with civic drains, quietly flow into the river.

The sewage flow makes the river a fertile bed for weeds. The squalor and the stench, emanating from streams of drains, not only make for an eyesore, but a health hazard too. A large number of persons take bath in the river when water is released for irrigation, observes G. Amutha, a resident of Palakkarai.

The Corporation could ideally use the PWD move to construct retaining walls along the river to launch an ‘operation clean-up,’ observes R. Gopalakrishnan of Puthur. The civic body could easily identify and block the drainage inlets and persuade the residents/commercial establishments to opt for the underground system.

A coordinated operation should be launched by the district administration, Corporation, Forest and Environment Department, and residents welfare organisations to beautify the river, says N. Ramakrishnan, convenor, Federation of Welfare Organisations. Once the river is restored with its original purity, even pleasure boating could be introduced. The embankments of the river could be developed into pucca roads, he suggests.

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