PCB action plan to rejuvenate three Thrissur rivers

Thrissur: Acting on an order issued by National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) is preparing an action plan to rejuvenate three rivers in Thrissur.

The new plan comes in the wake of NGT rejecting the one it submitted on cleaning up of the polluted rivers in the state and accepting the action plan prepared for only Karamana River flowing through Thiruvananthapuram city.

The polluted rivers of Thrissur come on the list of priority 4 and 5 in terms of their pollution level, and they are Karuvannur, Puzhakkal and Kecheri.

"As per the action plan in the making, it formed a district-level technical committee with members from irrigation department, Kerala Water Authority, Suchitwa Mission, revenue department and local bodies," SPCB environmental engineer V. A. Suseela Nair said.

Puzhakkal was found to be the most polluted among 150 rivers in the country more than a decade ago in an expert study, and the fact that the officials are preparing such an action plan now shows how the departments and legislators had overlooked the issue of river pollution.

"The main reason for pollution is letting off septic tank waste through sewerages into these rivers. We are identifying sources to put an end to such illegal activities. But, as compared to rivers across the country, which are on the priority list of 1, 2 and 3, the pollution in the three is much less," she said.