KOCHI: Environmentalists have come out against Cochin International Airport Lts’s much-touted proposal to operate solar boats from the airport to Marine Drive via Chengal Thodu and Periyar. They say that the project will have serious consequences for the entire Kochiites. The environmentalists say that saline water will seep into the drinking water pumping houses of Kerala Water Authority in Periyar at Muppathadam and Aluva. They have submitted a petition to the government asking it to prevent CIAL from going ahead with the project.
“The Pathalam regulator-cum-bridge has to be opened to enable the solar boat to operate. During high tide saline water will seep into the river and move to the areas from where drinking water is supplied. CIAL may not have any responsibility over this, but the government should intervene and make sure that potable water is supplied to millions of Kochiites,” said N. Ramachandran, legal secretary, Association for Environmental Protection, Aluva.
He said that CIAL, which once mooted a project to operate ordinary boats through the river as [art pf its tourism initiative, had shelved it following objections raised over polluting the drinking water source. “Now they have come out with the project of solar boats to rule out pollution, but still drinking water is sure to get mixed with saline water from the backwater,” Mr Ramachandran said.
Another prominent environmentalist Dr C.M. Joy said that during high tide even water polluted by industries can come up to the drinking water pumping stations along with the saline water. “Once such a boat service becomes operational, the regulator cum bridge will be operated in an unscientific way which is certain to pollute the drinking water,” Dr Joy said. The environmentalists said that Periyar is depended by over 30 lakh people in the Greater Cochin area for drinking water while nearly 20 lakh people reside on its sides and use it for various purposes.
