KOCHI: The Periyar turned red near the Pathalam bund along the Eloor-Edayar industrial belt on Saturday. The water continued to be dark red in colour for several hours during the day. “The colour change occurred when the Pathalam bund was reopened a few days after it was closed due to decline in water flow,” claimed environmentalists.
The Circuit Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had recently ordered inspection of all the industrial units operating on the banks of the Periyar, as part of a feasibility study on setting up effluent treatment plants and to check whether the effluents discharged into the river are within the prescribed parameters.
Meanwhile, officials of the Pollution Control Board collected water samples from the area where the colour change was observed. Environmentalists alleged that industrial units in the area had dumped effluents ahead of the inspection, causing the colour change.