All they want is to study in a stink-free and healthy atmosphere.
Stigin K. Prince, a class VIII student, is among the 2,000 students of Government Higher Secondary School and Sree Narayana Vilasom TTI school, both at Kakkazhom in Ambalappuzha North grama panchayat, who are being denied their basic right to breathe clean air.
The students face the danger of falling sick from inhaling toxic fumes that emanate from the waste-choked Kappithode. Clogged with all kinds of detritus and stagnant dark water, the stinking canal has become a perennial health hazard, leaving the students of the two educational institutions, situated by the side of the canal, to bear most of the brunt.
Students say the stench is nauseating and they are finding it difficult to concentrate on the class.
Stigin is planning to file a complaint before the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. It is a last ditch effort to save the canal and themselves from the odour.
There has been no shortage of interventions and promises ever since the pollution of Kappithode first came to light more than three decades ago when a few students of the two schools fell ill after breathing poisonous gases from the canal.
Done all
“We have blocked the national highway, conducted numerous protests, made representations to top authorities, including the President of India, Prime Minister and Chief Minister, but to no avail.
Politicians are interested only in protecting the interests of those polluting Kappithode,” a senior teacher with the SNV TTI told The Hindu .
According to local residents and officials, the pollution is mainly due to the solid and liquid wastes being dumped into the canal, mostly from prawn peeling sheds in the area.
Meat processing centres, hotels, auditoriums, houses and the TD Medical College also contribute to the problem.
From peeling sheds
Almost all peeling sheds deposit their waste in the waterbody, making the 14.5-km canal highly polluted. A study conducted a few years ago revealed the presence of hydrogen sulphide and ammonia in the canal.
Prince V. Kambiyil, president, School Management Committee, said the government should come up with a lasting solution to the problem.
“Our children are suffering from asthma, vomiting and diarrhoea. It is a shame the children and hundreds of local residents in the area are denied clean air. The authorities should act and initiate steps to construct a plant to treat waste from the peeling centres,” he said.
Although the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has tried to end pollution and to initiate eco-restoration of the canal, nothing has come to fruition.
Land for plant
“It is the responsibility of the Ambalapuzha North grama panchayat to find land for the construction of a treatment plant. Unfortunately, there is a lack of interest on their side. Once they identify the land, we will provide them all expertise and assistance. At present peeling centres are functioning in a decentralised manner. There is a need to bring them into a centralised system. This will make monitoring easy and prevent individual peeling centres from letting their waste into the canal,” said Biju B., environmental engineer, PCB.
