PALAKKAD: The directive of the circuit bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Kochi to the State Government to constitute an expert committee to study the reasons for the pollution of the Bharathapuzha and suggest remedies has enthused the environmentalists.
The Bharathapuzha has been dying due to the dumping of wastes and encroachment of the banks on either side. The environmentalists are hopeful that the new Government will initiate steps to constitute an expert committee.
The NGT has also directed that the report should be submitted to the Chief secretary within 30 days. The members of the committee should visit the most polluted points of the river, take samples and examine them.
Apart from the dumping of garbage, there was indiscriminate sand mining. Most of the river bed has been devoid of any river sand. The river was also the source of drinking water in areas like Ottappalam, Shoranur, Pattambi, Thirthala and the districts of Thrissur and Malappuram, said the general secretary of the Jana Jagratha Dr P.S. Panicker.