KOCHI: Residents of Chottanikkara are apprehensive of the deteriorating quality of drinking water in wells owing to the unbridled growth of business establishments, including hotels, according to a report submitted by the Advocate Commissioner to the High Court.
The report said the three wells examined by the Advocate Commissioner appeared blackish. Moreover, residents are of the view that indiscriminate discharge of effluent into the PWD drain has hampered agricultural operations in the nearby paddy fields, besides triggering outbreak of diseases including jaundice. “Though the drain around the temple is covered with slabs, it remained open in other places. It was also found blacked in some areas. The drain ends at Adiackal Padasekharam, a major source of water in the area,” the report added. Incidentally, the commissioner did not come across any instance of the drain being blocked by red soil or concrete. The residents also apprised the official that agricultural operations were hit due to accumulation of effluent from the drain.
The commissioner pointed out that K.B. Babu, Deputy Collector (Disaster Management), had informed him that except a lodge, all hotels had complied with the directive not to discharge effluent into the drain. Meanwhile, panchayat officials said the cleaning up of the drain was in full swing. The commissioner was told that it was the responsibility of business establishments to make arrangements for treatment of waste as it was a condition for granting licence. They also told him that the District Planning Committee had sanctioned a project for treatment of water.
The report said a Chottanikkara Devaswom officer had informed the commissioner that the Cochin Devaswom Board had proposed to set up a waste treatment plant at a cost of ₹4 lakh. The proposal was placed before the high power committee of the Pollution Control Board (PCB). The proposed plant can be commissioned in around eight months from the date of commencement of the construction.
In an affidavit, the district administration had informed the court that it had restrained certain hotels and lodges at Chottanikkara from functioning as they were found discharging septic tank waste into public drains, causing pollution of drinking water sources in the surrounding areas. The inspection was conducted on the basis of reports submitted by the District Medical Officer (DMO) and the PCB.
The DMO had reported that as many as 19 establishments, including lodges and hotels, in the temple town were found discharging waste into the public drainage without treatment. The PCB had also reiterated the findings of the DMO.
