The Hindu 28.11.2009
Protest against water treatment proposal
Radhakrishnan Kuttoor
| Direct chemical treatment of water in Erumeli canal |
— Photo: Leju Kamal 
Health hazard: Devotees take a customary holy dip in the canal that passes by the ancient Sastha temple in Erumeli town.
PATHANAMTHITTA: A proposal for direct chemical treatment of water in the Erumeli canal and Ambalamthodu on the lines of the treatment system implemented in the Njunangar stream, a tributary of the Pampa, has raised concern among the local people and environmentalists.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) have proposed to jointly implement the chemical treatment system.
Ecologists say the system for direct treatment of water in the Njunangar stream has come a cropper due to the heavily contaminated ferrous chloride supplied free by a private company. The process has reportedly led to the discharge of heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, nickel, chromium and heavy concentration of iron into the Pampa, posing alarming health risks to the people residing in the downstream reaches up to the backwaters of Kuttanad.
N.K. Sukumaran Nair, Pampa Parirakshana Samiti (PPS) general secretary; V.N. Gopinatha Pillai, general secretary of the Manimalayar Samrakshana Samiti; and Thomas P. Thomas, academic and environmentalist; have condemned the move to implement a similar water treatment system in the Erumeli canal this year, exposing the densely populated area to public health risks.
The Erumeli canal empties into the Manimala river, which houses a number of pumping stations of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) in the downstream reaches, posing a threat to drinking water supply schemes, Mr. Govinda Pillai. He said there was no question of permitting any chemical treatment in the natural stream without conducting proper scientific studies by a competent Central agency.
Dumping
Mr. Sukumaran Nair said dumping of chemical waste into the Pampa in the name of direct river treatment should not be permitted at any cost as it posed serious public health hazards in Central Travancore and Kuttanad.
Implementation of the direct chemical treatment in the Erumeli canal will generate large quantity of sludge with a strong presence of hazardous heavy metals.
Dr. Thomas urged Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan to intervene in the matter and check any move on the part of the PCB and the TDB that posed health hazards to the public.
