Water in rivers in the four districts of the old Mysuru region are not fit for consumption without filtration owing to the continuous direct discharge of untreated effluents, say studies conducted by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
Keeping the public health in mind, the Board, every month, examines the safety standards of Cauvery, Kabini, Lakshmanathirtha and Shimsha rivers. It draws water samples from rivers in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Kodagu districts and tests them under the national programme — Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources and the Global Environmental Monitoring Scheme.
The laboratory reports on samples tested at the Regional Laboratory in Hebbal Industrial Layout in Mysuru in the past 10 months revealed that the level of pollution content in the four rivers was alarmingly high at many places.
Samples were collected from the Cauvery between Napoklu and Sathegala, from the Kabini between Saraguru and T. Narasipura, from the Lakshmanathirtha between Hunsur and Kattemalalavadi and from the Shimsha between Maddur and Halagur.
The level of hazardous elements and chemical content have been dangerously increasing in these rivers following the direct release of untreated domestic waste water, say officials at the Board.
Elements such as fluoride, faecal coliform, lead and some suspended solids have been continuously found at many places over the last 10 months.
According to the Board, Hunsur Town Panchayat and other local governing bodies along the course of these rivers have been directly discharging polluted water into the rivers.
Thus, the Board had recently brought the issue to the notice of the Regional Commissioner of Mysuru (Revenue Division).
“We explained the severity of the issue by enclosing the laboratory test details,” a senior officer at the Board, on condition of anonymity, told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
Treatment plants
The Additional Regional Commissioner, Mysuru Division, has directed the Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers of the Zilla Panchaytas in all the four districts to take steps to provide purified/chlorinated water to the public.
The Additional Regional Commissioner, in his recent letter to the DCs and CEOs, also wanted the Zilla Panchayats, City Municipal Councils, Town Panchayats, Town Municipal Councils and Gram Panchayats in the four districts to install sewage water treatment plants.
“We will take steps to implement the instructions,” a senior officer at the ZP office, Chamanarajanagar, said.
Rivers under threat
KSPCB regularly collects water samples from four
rivers— Cauvery, Kabini, Shimsha and Lakshmanathirtha — for tests
Laboratory reports indicate the level of pollution
in these rivers is increasing dangerously
Fluoride, faecal coliform, lead and some
suspended solids found
Additional Regional Commissioner has issued
instructions to DCs and ZP CEOs; local governing bodies told to provide purified water and to install STPs
