Amidst concerns over the rising presence of faecal waste in the water that flows through the Meenachilar—the lifeline of Kottayam—the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has intervened in the issue and sought urgent action from the authorities in this regard.
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Considering a petition filed by a Pala native, commission chairman (Rtd) Justice Antony Dominic directed the secretary of the local self-government department, managing director of the Kerala Water Authority, the district medical officers, and the district environmental engineer of the State Pollution Control Board, to submit detailed reports on the actions to be taken in this regard. The reports should be submitted by November 25.
A recent study, carried out by the Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences, confirmed the presence of faecal coliform bacteria in the waterbody that are several times more than the permissible levels.
The report, which was based on a comparative analysis of its volume in the river before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, had also found that water samples collected from locations close to Pala, Erattupetta and Kottayam towns, were not fit for human consumption.
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The study, carried out at 10 locations starting from the river’s origin at Adukkam to Illikkal in the downstream, found the bacteria’s presence in all samples.
No industrial units
With no major industrial units present on the river banks, the report also sought to attribute the bacteria’s presence to the discharge of sewage from the human settlements.
The river, which courses down the heart of Kottayam, serves as the source to as many as 50 drinking water projects.