The Hindu Business Line : Pampa Action Plan work moving at a snail’s pace

Kochi, Jan. 7 The alleged impervious attitude of the State government authorities towards timely implementation of the Pampa Action Plan (PAP) under the National Conservation Programme (NRCP) sanctioned about six years ago by the Centre, resulted in the continued pollution/contamination of the river Pampa, mainly during the pilgrimage season from November 15 to January 15 every year.

Though a Pampa River Basin Authority has been constituted recently, just before the commencement of the season, nothing worth mentioning has come into existence so far, official sources told Business Line.

Absence of a sewage treatment plant of adequate capacity at Sabarimala, good drainages, required number of toilets/latrines etc, has resulted in the discharge of all the wastes — including faecal and those from the “aravana” plant, hotels, lodges etc — into the Njunangar, which joins the river Pampa near the bathing ghat, Mr Paulson Eapen, Environmental Engineer, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Pathanamthitta, said.

He said there is a sewage treatment plant at Cheriyanavattom near Pampa which is inadequate and therefore, the Pollution Control Board has taken up river treatment at Pampa. It could effect a 50 per cent reduction in pollution of the river, he said.

Coliform level

Besides, under an agreement with the irrigation department and the state Electricity Board, water is released from the Kullar dam into the river near the bathing ghat to flush out the polluted water, he said.

And yet, the total coliform level in the water on Tuesday below the Pampa bathing ghat was 16,000/100 ml while that of faecal was 10,000/100 ml, Mr Santhosh Kumar of the Pollution Control Board at Pampa said. He said that the acceptable limit of coliform is 500/100ml. The dissolved oxygen level in the water was also low at 3.4 as against the normal level of 4 to 5, he said.

Waste discharge from Sannidhanam to Pampa through the Njunangar pushes up the coliform content in the Pampa river water and it would shoot up to over 20,000/100 ml during the Makaravilakku festival from January 12-14, official sources said.

According to Dr B. Padmakumar, Associate Professor, General Medicine, Alappuzha Government Medical College, contamination of the Pampa river has become a perpetual phenomenon in the absence of proper sewage/water treatment plants and other required infrastructures at Pampa and Sabarimala to arrest the contamination of the river.

As a result, inhabitants of the entire river basin up to Kuttanad, who are solely dependent on the Pampa river water, have been affected.

“In fact, water-borne health hazards such as gastro-entitis, typhoid, hepatitis etc have become endemic in the region”, he said. Given this scenario, the authorities should implement the projects under the PAP to stop contamination of the river, he added.

Realising the urgent need to put an end to the pollution of the river during the pilgrimage season, the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) had included the river Pampa in its national programme about six years ago. The project was to be implemented in three phases.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Kerala

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page