Kochi : Industrial pollution in Periyar River, the district’s lifeline and a key source of drinking water, continues unabated. In the latest incident, the downstream of the river in Edayar industrial area was found covered with a thick, fatty substance on Tuesday morning.
He said the department had collected samples of effluents in treatment plants from around 200 units, and all were found within the parameters. The major pollution in Periyar River was reported in 2024 when mass fish killing was reported following the sudden opening of shutters of Pathalam-cum-regulator bridge. This is the second pollution incident reported in the area within a week, even as the state pollution control board (PCB) struggles to curb recurring pollution in the downstream stretches of Periyar River. Though there are surveillance cameras, they won’t be able to capture images at night. Even if night vision cameras are installed, they won’t be able to capture the images from a long distance,” a PCB official said. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
But only limited number of companies have displayed the boards so far,” said Mahesh Kumar V B, an environmentalist in Eloor. Though PCB has two surveillance cameras on the regulator-cum-bridge, Mahesh said they are not effective. He said more cameras need to be installed in the area to detect violations.
The discharge was found floating in the river (below Pathalam-cum-regulator Bridge) by the locals. It is suspected that the waste was discharged at night by one of the industrial units. “There was also an odour from the discharge, which had spread across a large stretch of the river. Once the regulator was lifted, it floated further down. The PCB officials are yet to identify the culprit. The industrial units had been asked by the Oommen Chandy govt to display what they manufacture and the raw materials they use. The absence of real-time night vision cameras along the industrial stretch makes it difficult for PCB to identify units which release untreated wastewater into the river, where multiple studies found a high level of pollution. “Though it is alleged that the substance floating in the river was fat, we also found a powdered substance, as per observation. PCB collected samples of the waste from four sites. The test result showed that the oil and grease content showed a marginal increase. In the wake of the latest incident, PCB will issue notices to the industrial units in the area directing them to strictly comply with the rules. Download the TOI App.