Activists and residents of Alwarpuram here say sewage has been flowing into Vaigai river for the past two days. With at least 4,000 cusecs being released in the river over a week now, pipelines laid below Kalpalam bridge have developed leaks, leading to sewage getting mixed with the river water.
Residents and tourist who were clicking pictures of a full-flowing river on Sunday also pointed to the overbearing stench. N.R. Suresh said there was a time when he could bath in the river at Alwarpuram, but it was quite common to see sewage flowing freely into the river now. “Without proper sewage regulation by the Madurai Corporation, many parts of the Vaigai banks have become cesspools, causing diseases,” he said.
M. Rajan, chief coordinator Vaigai Nathi Makkal Iyakkam, said the mixing of sewage in the river water was a common sight along both banks of the river.
“The Corporation officials told us two months ago that they identified about 20 spots where sewage got mixed with river water. Last week, members of our organisation visited these areas and found that the problem had been rectified in only eight places. We also found that pumping stations and sewage treatment plants were not properly connected as the channels remained incomplete or broken,” he said.
The Iyakkam had submitted several petitions to Corporation authorities, but continuous steps to monitor the problem had not been taken, he added.
Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar said a permanent solution to prevent sewage leakage at Alwarpuram was formulated one year ago. “There was a blockage for about 200 metres and a pipeline had collapsed there. To mitigate the problem, we created four manholes so that sewage could be pumped without any difficulty,” he said, adding he would, anyway, look into the matter.
