The Hindu Business Line : Work under Pampa action plan commences

Pampa May 23 After a four-year wait, implementation of the first phase of the Pampa Action Plan under the National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) has started with the construction of three check dams with shutters - vented cross bars (VCBs) - across the Pampa and two other streams.

The work, costing over Rs 1 crore and executed by the State Irrigation Department, is progressing well and is scheduled to be completed before the onset of monsoon, Mr Binu Baby, Assistant Engineer at the site, told Business Line.

Reservoir

The construction of the VCBs at Pandarakayam and at Sree Rama Padam across the Kakki river would be used as a reservoir for supplying drinking water to pilgrims during the annual pilgrimage that begins in mid-November and goes on till the third week of January, he added.

Besides, water would be released to provide enough at the bathing ghat at Pampa for the pilgrims.

Construction of the VCB across Pampa, below the Arattukadavu (the enclosed ghat used for bathing the idol of Lord Ayyappa), which is at the foundation stage, is unlikely to be completed before the onset of monsoon.

The idea behind the construction of the VCB here is to stop the entry of sewage flows through the land into the Njunangar, a small tributary stream joining the Pampa, just downstream of Arattukadavu.

Given the high pollution of the Pampa during the pilgrimage season, when millions of devotees from all over the country visit the hill shrine, it has been included in the NRCP.

Therefore, according to experts, priority should have been accorded to establishment of a three million litre per day (MLD) sewage treatment plant at Sabarimala and 1.5 MLD plant at Pampa.

Both schemes were approved by the NRC Department at an estimated cost of Rs 2.4 crore and Rs 1.2 crore respectively in the first phase of the project.

The existing sewage treatment plant at Cheriayanavattom near the Pampa is quite inadequate and the partially treated sewage is pumped into forestland, the experts said.

As there is no proper disposal system or arrangement, the sewage flows through land into Njunangar, they added.

Keeping the Pampa clean is essential as lakhs of people living in the river basin in central Tranvancore up to Kuttanad depend on it for water.

For implementing the first phase of the project, involving a total investment of Rs 18.45 crore, the NRC Directorate under the Ministry of Environement and Forests had accorded administrative approval and sanctioned Rs 12.92 crore (70 per cent Central share of the total cost) in May 2003.

The first phase of the project, as per NRCD schedule, was to be completed by the end of 2006-07.

Most of the components of the project were to be implemented by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

"But lack of co-ordination between the Government Departments and the absence of an independent implementation agency could be the reason for its non-implementation," said Mr N.K.S. Nair, General Secretary of the Pampa Parirakshana Samithi.

Mr T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, suggested recently that a nodal agency such as the Pampa River Basin Development Authority (PRBDA) should be set up at the State-level to implement the integrated Pampa Action Plan.

According to official sources, the project could not be taken up as it was clubbed with the Sabarimala master plan, which was accepted by the State Government recently.

The Centre had accepted the Pampa Action Plan involving a total investment of Rs 319.70 crore, submitted by the State Government on December 19, 2002 to be completed in three phases following the inclusion of the river in the NRCP in June 2001.

According to the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), given the high presence of coliform bacteria in the river water during the season, "it is imperative that the water quality of the Pampa be improved/upgraded in its entire stretch."