KOCHI: Accelerating change” is this year’s World Water Day theme, and leading from the front is a sprightly, colourful hummingbird. The UN’s campaign is inspired by an ancient legend of Peru’s Quechua people, in which a hummingbird fetches drops of water to help put out a massive forest fire.
As other animals ridicule her, she replies: “I’m doing what I can.” That’s what the Water Day campaign calls on everyone on earth to put into practice — do whatever one can to solve the global water and sanitation crisis, just like the little bird.
As per the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, member nations are to tide over the water crisis by 2030. “Right now, we are seriously off-track,” notes a UN report. The situation in Kerala is grim, too, with pollution ravaging water bodies, including canals, rivers, lakes, backwaters and the sea. A recent Suchitwa Mission study identified the presence of coliform bacteria in 79 per cent of water bodies in the state. In Ernakulam, 83 per cent of the samples collected showed the presence of the bacteria.
Meanwhile, industrial effluents are rampantly being pumped into the Perirar. “Just two days ago, we found a company, which had received multiple official warnings, flowing polluted water into the river. We complained to the Pollution Control Board, and officials collected the water samples for study,” says Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi member Purushan Eloor.
“The number of companies polluting the water has gone up. In December and January, dead fish surfaced in the Periyar.” Kochi’s canals are also highly polluted. Notably, a recent study flagged the presence of faeces in the city’s canals.
“About 80 per cent of even groundwater is polluted in West Kochi,” says former mayor Sohan K J. “It is an invisible bomb. Most canals here have dirty, black water. With the lack of a sewage treatment system, waste from households flows to the canal, along with the industrial waste.”
Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are the need of the hour, he adds. “How can we call Kochi a smart city, if it can’t even manage the waste?” asks Sohan. Environmentalist Manoj Kumar says reviving natural waterbodies such as streams and ponds will go a long way in tackling the water crisis in many areas. “The government should try to curb pollution. Meanwhile, we can do our bit and rejuvenate unused water bodies,” he adds.
The much-talked-about canal rejuvenation project, proposed by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) in 2019, is yet to take off. A KMRL official says the project was delayed due to a delay in obtaining governmental clearances.
The official adds that a “Sewerage Master Plan” and detailed project reports for four sewage treatment plans have been submitted to the Centre. “The Jal Shakthi ministry will allocate funds soon,” he says.
“The only constraint is land acquisition. The district collector has agreed to expedite the land acquisition process, and the proposed land for three STPs will be made available within three months. Once the STPs are operational — three years after the start of construction — sewage flow into the canals will be prevented.”