Water samples collected from River Noyyal are under analysis in a government approved laboratory in Coimbatore to check the level of pollution, according to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).
The samples were collected based on the instructions of District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati, who along with TNPCB officials inspected stretches of Noyyal where frothing was reported recently.
Mr. Pati said that the exact reasons for frothing and the level of pollution in the river would come to light when the laboratory examination results were out. The preliminary assessment was that surfactants discharged from domestic sewage were the reason for frothing.
He said the Coimbatore Corporation has been instructed to ensure proper treatment of sewage by utilising the treatment plants in their full capacity. This would also require complete linking of every household with the Under Ground Sewerage Scheme.
The residents of Nanjundapuram said that froth continued to form in River Noyyal at Merku Pudur. Residents from the locality alleged that release of effluents and other pollutants into the river was the main reason for frothing.
D. Viswanathalal, a farmer from Nanjundapuram, said that farmers in the region mainly depended on the water from Noyyal for cultivation. Due to increased levels of pollution, farmers were unable to use the water. “I stopped cultivation of vegetables due to water pollution. Now I am growing areca nuts on my farm,” he said.
R. Chandrasekaran, District Environmental Engineer, Coimbatore south, said that the various tests to check the levels of surfactants, dissolved organic matter and other pollutants in the water were being done and the results were expected soon.
