The famous Vaigai river continues to stink. Despite Madurai city being selected for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign, the ancient city appears to be in slumber under mounds of garbage and refuses to wake up and smell the stink.
The city, which is expected to get whopping funds for the next five years from the Union government’s Urban Development Ministry for improvement on sanitation and infrastructure fronts, among others, has not moved towards achieving the goal.
While officials blame it on the public, residents point fingers at the babus for making their lives miserable.
In a good initiative, the district administration arranged a “mega mass cleaning campaign” along the nine-km stretch of the Vaigai in the city during the last quarter of 2017.
Not only civic officials, but even the top brass from the district, including officers from Central and State government departments, participated. As a special gesture, judicial officers and judges from the High Court too joined the campaign. District Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao claimed that over 50,000 youth volunteered for the clean Vaigai campaign and took a pledge not to dump wastes into the waters.
A little over two months has passed. There were resolutions on New Year Day. The ground reality, however, is totally different.
When The Hindu visited the Vaigai bank, an unpleasant smell immediately hit the nostrils. Beginning from the Kuruvikaran Salai side (on the northern side) up to Obulapadithurai, the stench continued.
All kinds of wastes — garlands, plastic bottles, leftover food and used clothes — could be seen dumped on the river bank. A closer look near the rear portion of Government Rajaji Hospital revealed the lurking danger. Water (five lakh litres) was allegedly pumped from the State-run hospital into the river. According to a reliable source in the Pollution Control Board, the GRH does not treat the medical waste and pumps them into the Vaigai.
Entering Alwarpuram and Thathaneri side, it became clear that the public used the river bank to urinate and defecate in the open. Near Sellur (both on the northern and southern side), after performing the final rituals of the deceased at Thathaneri crematorium, family members used the river for tonsuring. Further down, there were animal wastes.
Adding more problems to the environment, the Vaigai river bank road was being used by private gas welders and two-wheeler mechanics. Some of the lorry tankers too occupied the narrow roads, choking vehicular movemnt near Ismailpuram side during peak hours.
Rajan of Vaigai Nathi Paathukappu Iyakkam says educating people has to be a perennial exercise. “The ineffective use of treatment plants is of great concern. The mindset of the citizens has to change voluntarily. It is achievable.”
A senior official in the Health Department of Madurai Corporation, wishing anonymity, said they were imposing fines on people who defecated in the river.
“We have educated people not to spoil the environment because only when the Vaigai is clean, the city will reflect a better image.,” the official added.
