The stretch of the Periyar which flows by the industrial zone of Eloor-Edayar took on a rust-red hue on Monday and erupted in bubbles in some areas.
Local people claimed to have noticed the change of colour upstream of the Pathalam regulator-cum-bridge at 8 p.m. on January 6. The next morning, the rust-red colour was evident till the Pathalam Kadavu bridge, said Maheshkumar V.B., a resident of Eloor and a local activist with Janajagratha. He observed the bubbles on the water a few metres upstream of the Pathalam regulator-cum-bridge.
“Yesterday, there was also some fish kill downstream of the regulator bridge,” he said.
“I pass this stretch of the Periyar every day on my cycle and I immediately noticed the change in water colour upstream this morning,” said 62-year-old K. Shishupalam, a lottery seller in the area. “This is such a pity, for just two days ago the water was beautifully clear.”
The reddish hue changed into a turbid bronze-brown as the day progressed. Ever since this stretch of the river began changing colours, fish catch has decreased, claimed a resident, Thomas (name changed), who works in a factory nearby but comes to the Pathalam bridge to fish everyday.
“Amateurs, who used to catch around 2 or 3 kg of fish in a day now catch none at all,” he said.
The Eloor Pollution Control Board’s environmental engineer P. B. Sreelekshmi confirmed the colour change in the Periyar.
“We observed a reddish brown layer on the river, and the turbidity extended from upstream of the Pathalam regulator bridge to Kayantikkara,” she said.
The team conducted a full day’s inspection of all possible industries that could have caused this pollution but could not identify any source for the problem, she claimed.
“Samples taken when the river changed into a similar colour the last time revealed that there was no industrial pollution,” she said.
Samples have been collected this time too and sent to the laboratory, where it is being tested on “a very urgent basis”, she said. Tests would also be run for the presence of pesticides. However, no cause could be confirmed until the results were obtained, hopefully during this week itself, she said.
“We really need the authorities to take note of this and take urgent action,” said Zakir Hussain, an activist and resident. “We are fed up with officials telling us that samples have been taken, giving no information on the results they get from these tests.”
