CHENNAI : Yet another incident of Chennai Metropolitan Water supply and Sewerage Board allegedly discharging untreated sewage into the Cooum River has come to light. Raw sewage is being let out into the river under Ethiraj Salai Bridge on Binny Road in Egmore, said members of Arappor Iyakkam, who conducted a detailed audit along the river. However, the board officials denied allegations when Express approached them.
The audit by the NGO, done in March, found that sewage is being pumped into the river from a pumping station behind BSNL Telephone Exchange on Mount Road, and from another one on Greams Road. The issue was brought to the knowledge of board officials, but no action has been taken yet. “Slum residents on the river bank in Link Road, told us that at 11 pm, Metro Water workers let sewage from the pumping station into the Cooum. When questioned, the workers said they were doing it on the orders of local engineers,” said Raghavan Lokesh, who was part of the audit.
However, when Express contacted Metro Water officials, they denied these claims and said sewage is being let into stormwater drains from buildings on South Cooum Road. “There are no pumping stations around the Ethiraj Salai Bridge. So there is no chance that raw sewage is being let directly into the river,” said the official. “After encroachments are removed, we’ll plug sewage flowing through stormwater drains. Work has already begun in Anna Nagar. This will be carried out under the Chennai River Restoration Trust project (CRRT).”
Though certain households and commercial buildings let their waste directly through stormwater drains, experts say this is only a fraction of the real problem. “There are households which are yet to be connected to the underground sewage system. But, the CRRT can completely clean the river only if illegal discharge is stopped,” said Govardan, another member who has seen the discharge into the river. This comes at a time when Greater Chennai Corporation has started removing encroachments on the banks of the Cooum River along West Cooum Road in Egmore for CRRT to start its restoration work.
Similar plaints
After the audit, members of the NGO raised a complaint regarding similar incidents. “After the Sakkadai Thiruvizha event, in April, we had a panel discussion with Metro Water officials and informed them about such activities. But no action has been taken since,” said Kanchan Asrani, who headed the audit at Ethiraj Salai.