With textile and tannery processing industries closed due to nationwide lockdown, farmers claim that pollution level has dropped significantly in the Kalingarayan Canal.
The canal runs for 91.10 k.m. irrigating 15,743 acres in the district. But, mixing of effluents and dumping of waste by the people led to the canal losing its glory in all these years. Cement lining was done and baby canal was constructed to prevent effluents from entering the canal. But farmers said that despite all measures, water pollution remains and they continue to receive the water, which is black in colour.
Boopathy, a farmer at Parisalthurai said that there is a significant improvement in the water quality.
“The colour of the water is green which we are seeing after many years”, he said and added that pollution level had dropped in the past one week.
Earlier, the leachate generated from the dumped solid waste at Vendipalayam entered the canal through the natural drains which jas also stopped as the waste was bio-mined and removed.
But untreated sewage from the city is discharged into the canal at Konavaikal in Vendipalayam area.
Senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said that there is no discharge of effluents into the canal and action has been taken against units that illegally discharge effluents during night time.
“We continuously monitor the units even during night time to check for violations and no effluents are discharged into the canal”, they added.
Officials said that once the lockdown period is over, they would test the water quality.
