CHENNAI: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has selected two sites along the banks of rivers Cauvery and Thenpennai where in sampling will be undertaken to ascertain if the two rivers are polluted before entering TN.
The two sites, which have been selected by CPCB, include Agiibore, an entry point of Cauvery and Chokkarasanapalli, an entry point for Thenpennaiyar. This comes after the Supreme Court set a six-month deadline for the Central Pollution Control Board to file a report on pollution of Cauvery and Pennaiyar after State moved the court accusing Karnataka for dumping untreated sewage and industrial effluents in both rivers. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be carrying out the joint sampling and the results will be provided to CPCB regional directorate in Bengaluru.
The sampling will be done for four water quality criteria. These include dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, pH and total coliform. Sources said quality in the reservoir in Hosur was degraded due to pollution in Thenpennaiyar. It is learnt that CPCB may delay the report as the sampling could not be carried out during rains. It is likely that the report will be submitted to the SC by March next year.
In its petition, Tamil Nadu said that no attempt was made by Karnataka to set up effluent treatment plants, reverse osmosis systems or drainage to purify polluted water discharged into the rivers. It had urged the Supreme Court to issue a permanent injunction to restrain Karnataka from letting untreated effluents into the rivers. It further asked the Supreme court to direct Karnataka to clean the waters of the two rivers before they enter TN.