Huge quantities of what appears to be untreated sewage is being let into the Cooum River at Thiruverkadu for the last two months. The local residents say this shows the authorities have learnt little from the 2015 floods as the indiscriminate letting of sewage in the river will reduce the flood-carrying capacity of the city.
The spot in which a metal pipe is discharging the sewage is hardly 500 metres away from the Thiruverkadu bus depot and hundreds of passersby pass by the adjacent Thiruverkadu Salai daily
Local residents said the sewage discharge has been happening for nearly two months, only after the construction of a few apartment complexes began in the locality. When Express visited the spot on Tuesday, the reeking smell of the sewage was acrid. White foam too was seen in the sewage. Mukesh, a resident of Perumal Koil Street, said the officials inspected the spot once in July and even took photos,
but not much has changed on the ground.
While treated sewage being let into the Cooum is common, the local residents say the government authorities are being negligent in allowing even untreated sewage into the river.
Interestingly, the Thiruverkadu municipality office is just 200 metres away from this pipe. The problem of raw sewage being let into the river has been recurring in many ways. In May, TNIE had reported that raw sewage was being let into the part of Cooum at Thiruverkadu by private sewage tanker lorries.
"The Cooum River is already narrow in this area. If sewage is also let into the river, the surrounding localities will deluge with sewage when it heavily rains,"’ said Ganesh Kumar, a resident of Balaji Nagar, a residential locality adjacent to the Cooum River.
When Express brought the issue to the notice of a concerned Water Resources Department official, he collected details and said they take care of the issue.