Ombudsman order to check river pollution

Ombudsman for Local Self-Government Institutions M.R. Hariharan Nair
ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board, the Municipal Corporation and
the Kerala Water Authority to initiate urgent steps to reduce the
pollution of the Karamana river at the religiously important bathing
ghats at the Parsurama Temple at Thiruvallam here.Mr. Nair passed the
order on the basis of a complaint filed by Eashwari Amma, a resident
of Thiruvallam. She had filed a petition stating that the pollution of
the river at Thiruvallam was posing a dire health hazard to the people
living on its banks. She said most of them drew water from the river
for household purposes and hundreds of those dwelling on its banks
used the river for bathing and washing clothes.The river was also
religiously important to followers of the Hindu faith. Thousands of
them annually thronged the bathing ghats as part of a rite to
propitiate their ancestors.The Pollution Control Board (PCB), which
studied the problem, had suggested several steps, including removal of
silt bars, for reducing river pollution at Thiruvallam. It had asked
the Kerala Water Authority to set up a modern sewage treatment plant
at the earliest to prevent the dumping of raw sewage into the
river.The PCB also suggested periodic dredging of the river (to remove
silt and prevent accumulation of solid waste on the river bed) and
setting up of a modern barrage system to prevent polluted water from
the Parvathi Puthanar from entering the river during high tide.The PCB
had asked the Devaswom authorities to ensure the scientific disposal
of the leftover of offerings made by devotees (mostly plantain leaves,
earthen pots, flowers, plastic bags and rice) to prevent accumulation
of solid waste on the banks of the river.The Ombudsman said in his
order that a newspaper report (with photograph) pointing to
accumulation of slaughter waste on the banks of the river at
Thiruvallam had also alerted him of the pollution there.Mr. Nair
visited the spot and found that the authorities concerned had not
carried out the suggestions made by the PCB and other agencies.
Overgrowth of river bank vegetation and accumulation of solid waste
were impeding the smooth flow of the river. He said the authorities
could enlist the help of residents to clean up the river. He suggested
the setting up of separate bathing ghats for women devotees.The
Ombudsman also asked the government committee formed to check river
pollution to meet at the earliest and chalk out an action plan for
cleaning up the Thiruvallam segment of the Karamana river.

The Hindu, 6th January 2009