CHENNAI: After TNIE on Sunday reported about pollutants reaching the Keelkattalai surplus canal from the pumping station, officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) visited the spot on Monday to gather evidence of illegal discharge of sewage.
Officials said action will be taken against erring parties and a report will be filed before the National Green Tribunal in the ongoing case seeking to stop the illegal discharge of sewage into the four-km-long surplus canal.
Residents of Sunnambu Kolathur said they were pleased to see officials responding promptly to the long-drawn issue of sewage being released into the canal, ultimately polluting the Pallikaranai marshland. “Officials said they would take samples from the canal too. Earlier, the TNPCB collected water samples from Keelkattalai and Narayanapuram lakes and reported to the NGT that there is no sewage pollution,” said J Sankar, a resident of Kagithapuram.
TNIE had reported that two of the five pumps at the Keelkattalai pumping station were under repair and the pipelines were worn out and unable to carry sewage over 10 km to the Perungudi sewage treatment plant. Hence, during any failure, sewage was directly released into the canal. Last week, sewage was released into the canal as the pipelines near Perungudi had been damaged. The municipality told TNIE there was a proposal to revamp the sewage disposal structure at Rs 40 crore.