A stagnant pool of sewage beneath the Bailey Bridge near the modern sewage treatment plant (STP) at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam is a public health hazard at the pilgrim centre.
The High Power Committee (HPC) for implementation of the Sabarimala Master Plan constructed the bridge and a road linking the Marakkoottom- Sannidhanam Chandranandan road with Malikappuram, spending Rs. 1.22 crore in 2011.
The HPC had designed it as an exit route for pilgrims returning from the Sannidhanam. The stench from the pool of filth beneath the bridge is posing a problem to the pilgrims.
PCB directive
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has taken a serious note of the situation and directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to clear the filth by pumping it to the nearby STP.
PCB district environmental engineer Alexander George told The Hindu that the filth came from the collection tanks of certain toilet blocks that had not yet been connected to the STP and from the Appam-Aravana plant.
The TDB had constructed a temporary check-dam beneath the Bailey Bridge to block the sewage.
Mr. George said the coliform count in the filthy water was high posing a serious health hazard to the people visiting Sabarimala as well as the wildlife in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
The biological oxygen demand (BOD) level was 150 to 160 mg a litre against the normal rate of 1.5 mg a litre. The sewage also contained high amount of oil and grease (100 mg a litre), Mr. George said.
He said the TDB had taken a stance that the contractor of the STP was bound to pump the filth into the STP while the latter claimed that treating the waste generated at the Appam-Aravana plant did not come under the purview of the contract.
Mr. George said the PCB would be submitting a report to the Kerala High Court soon.
