Untreated effluents from industrial units turn river green

TNPCB officials inspect water in Mettur Dam for suspected pollution

A team of officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) inspected the water of River Cauvery in a few villages in the water spread area of Mettur Dam, which has turned green reportedly due to the mixing of the untreated effluents and dirty water from drainages on Saturday.

The reported mixing of untreated effluents and drainage water has added to the problem of river pollution at some villages that formed the water spread area of Mettur Dam.

There was heavy inflow of water into the dam following widespread rainfall in the catchment areas of Krishnarajasagar and Kabini reservoirs. Following this, the Mettur Dam reached the full reservoir level twice on July 23 and August 11 this season, forcing the authorities to release the entire inflow into River Cauvery for many days.

The untreated effluents released from the innumerable industrial units and the drainage water mixed with the river water.

Due to this, stagnated water in the water spread area in the villages of Pannavadi, Sethukuli and Kottaiyur on both the right and left banks of the river has turned green for the past few days, causing much anxiety to the local people, particularly the inland fishermen.

Now, the river stinks and has become unhealthy for the fishermen who venture into the water daily to catch fish for their livelihood.

A majority of the fishermen have abstained from fishing for the past few days due to the presence of polluted water.

The local people complain that the continous presence of polluted water may prove a major health hazard in the surrounding villages. The cattle, which consume the polluted water, also face the danger falling seriously ill. The TNPCB officials collected the samples of the water for testing in the government laboratory, official sources said.