TIRUNELVELI: Environmentalist SP Muthuraman wrote to the state government demanding that the entire Thamirabarani river bed, along its 128-km flowing length, be declared as a 'zero solid and liquor waste discharge zone' on Tuesday.
In his petition to the chief secretary, secretaries of environment climate change & forests, public works department and the district collector, Muthuraman demanded the formation of the Thamirabarani rejuvenation commission stating that the river is highly polluted.
"Thamirabarani River is the source of drinking water for five districts: Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram. But, it is being turned into a river like Chennai's Cooum with people discharging sewage into the river, dumping solid waste and defecating in the river bed," he said, adding that the corpses are cremated in the river bank and its ashes are mixed in the river water. He further warned that the people of five districts are at a risk of losing their 'right to clean water and 'right to live in a healthy environment'.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently dismissed Muthuraman's plea against conducting cremation and rituals on the riverbed.