Residents raise concerns of sewage pollution in clean stretch of the Cooum river near Putlur check dam

A cleanable agelong of Cooum stream adjacent Putlur cheque dam successful Tiruvallur district, located astir 40 km from Chennai, is astatine hazard of degradation owed to sewage inflow. Residents complaint that the contamination could undermine efforts to store freshwater successful cheque dams and reconstruct the stream downstream.

Urbanisation and the lack of a due sewage disposal strategy successful Tiruvallur person been plaguing the wide agelong of the stream for the past fewer years. The dysfunctional Periyakuppam sewage attraction works (STP) compounded the contented of earthy sewage polluting the stream adjacent the cheque dam, said residents of Manavalan Nagar successful Tiruvallur.

D. Anandhakrishnan, a nonmigratory of Manavalan Nagar, said sewage was released into the stream done stormwater drains and inlets linked to the STP from areas specified arsenic Bagirathiammal Street.

“The cheque dam successful Putlur helps areas abutting the stream to tide implicit h2o crisis. Groundwater is disposable astatine a extent of 10 feet successful these areas. But its prime is steadily declining arsenic the stream is choked with sewage,” helium said, pointing retired that the stream was besides an important root of irrigation.

Members of Manavalan Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association person submitted petitions stressing the request to dainty sewage earlier releasing it into the stream and forestall groundwater contamination.

Residents pointed retired that the sewage treated successful the STP was initially released into Putlur lake, and the surplus h2o flowed into the Cooum. The Tiruvallur municipality is present laying a pipeline to straight discharge treated wastewater into the river.

Aravind Chandramohan, a nonmigratory surviving adjacent the riverbank, said respective areas astir the waterway were inactive babelike connected groundwater. With earthy sewage entering the stream from areas upstream, groundwater has go coloured successful areas specified arsenic Pillaiyar Koil Street. The section assemblage has sunk borewells on the riverbed successful the aforesaid agelong to proviso h2o to assorted areas successful Tiruvallur.

Residents demanded that the deficiencies successful the STP beryllium rectified and prime standards strictly monitored to apprehension the discharge of untreated sewage and support the stream from becoming a sewage carrier. The downstream agelong betwixt Sorancheri and Avadi are choked with h2o hyacinth.

Responding to the complaints, Tiruvallur municipality chairperson P. Udhayamalar said measures were being taken to power odour successful the existing STP and incorporated precocious attraction technology. Another STP, being built astatine a outgo of ₹10 crore adjacent Putlur, would beryllium commissioned successful 1 oregon 2 months.

Pointing retired assorted measures to safeguard the river, Poonamallee MLA A. Krishnaswamy said Bacillus bacteria-based chemicals were added to the attraction strategy to breakdown the pollutants, power odour, and amended wastewater quality. Efforts are nether mode to amended the show of the existing STP.

Moreover, precocious ungraded biotechnology would beryllium deployed to dainty sewage and guarantee prime of wastewater discharged into the river. A connection is pending with the Water Resources Department to supply shutters successful the cheque dam, helium said.

Noting that the stream has shown betterment successful the past 3 months, officials of the WRD said the section assemblage had been instructed to guarantee prime of treated sewage remains wrong permissible limit.

The ₹13 crore task to instal shutters successful Putlur cheque dam, which volition trim siltation and assistance store much water, is nether consideration, they said.