MADURAI: Shocked by reports that tonnes of clothes, footwear, glass articles, etc are being dumped in Thamirabarani river in the guise of performing obsequies, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Tirunelveli district collector to announce to the public that the court is proposing to stop the practice and that it would like to hear all stakeholders before passing an order since the issue involved religious beliefs.
Observing that no one has the right to pollute a water body even in the name of religion, a special bench comprising justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi, which deals with cases relating to water bodies, invited suggestions from the district administration to solve the problem.
The bench gave the directions while hearing a petition filed by a man opposing eviction proceedings initiated against a mandapam situated in Ambasamduram taluk. During the hearing, the assistant executive engineer (WRO) of the Upper Thamirabarani sub-division told the court that thousands of devotees flock to the bathing ghats of Thamirabarani from Papanasam onwards to perform obsequies, which involved ritualistic discarding of used and unused garments, towels, clothes, slippers and other articles associated with the deceased. On occasions such as Aadi Amavasasai, pilgrims arrive in huge numbers to offer homage to their deceased forefathers, the official added.
The court also had occasion to hear a volunteer Moorthy who coordinated with the local administration and the temple management and engaged in collecting the discarded articles from the river by enlisting the help of members of a team named ‘Aripukarargal’.
Moorthy told the court that discarded clothes get caught in the riverbed and become a breeding ground for bacteria like e coli.
The judges also referred to a booklet titled “Thamarabharani Nadhineer Thooimai Vizhipunarvu” authored by C Kalavalli, which stated that 86 to 90 tonnes of clothes, 2.2 tonnes of holy ash, 115 kg of footwear, 1,385 kg of plastic wastes, 220 kg of glass bottles, 700 kg of burnt bricks, 374 kg of sanitary napkins and diapers, 302 kg of oil bottles and shampoo sachets, etc, which were discarded in the river, were collected during the period between May 7 and May 28. Considering the alarming statistics, the judges directed the collector to announce the court’s proposed order to the public so that any religious body or activist can intervene and make their submissions. The matter was adjourned to July 16.