THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every day, we put our lives at stake for a pail of water. We face constant threats of close encounters with wild elephants and bison,” says Girija K, a 58-year-old of the Vittikavu settlement in Idinjar, Peringamala.
Accessing water has become a challenge for inhabitants of the various tribal settlements in the area. With traditional water sources drying up, the villagers have no other choice but to venture deep into the forest in search of water pits.
“The pits also are now drying up. We source this water using hoses. But the area is frequented by wild elephants which often destroy the hoses. I trek through the forest twice a day to ensure the hoses are in place,” says Girija, who is among the hundreds of inhabitants of her settlement.
Located 37km from the state capital, Idinjar used to be blessed with streams, natural springs and water sources that never dried up even during summers. Many residents believe the water crisis was brought on by unregulated groundwater extraction by a packaged drinking water company based near Palode.
“The private company, which has been in operation for 10 years, is to blame for the depletion of our water resources. There are not many wells in our settlement but we never faced any water shortage in the past,” says 55-year-old Ramani S, a local resident.
“After 6pm, the forest is not a safe place. Wild elephants roam around destroying our crops. We have suffered heavy losses yet forest authorities never check on us. They show up only when forest resources are destroyed.”
Every house in the settlement has a pipe connection, provided by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) under the Jal Jeevan Mission. “But the water supply project is yet to be commissioned,” says Gandhi K, a 53-year-old rubber farmer from Vittikavu settlement.
“It’s been a year since they installed the pipes, but the wait for water continues. We depend on the forest for water. Wild animal attacks are making our lives miserable.”
With the crisis deepening, villagers have requested the panchayat for water supply using tankers, Gandhi adds. Notably, Peringamala is part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, a Unesco-recognised region of the Western Ghats.
“It’s an ecologically sensitive area that is rich in biodiversity,” says environmental activist and renowned photographer Sali Palode.
“The company running the packaged drinking water facility has been registered as a food manufacturing unit. It’s operating in violation of rules. By extracting groundwater illegally, it is straining the natural water resources,”he added.
Villagers oppose new unit
Residents have now come out in protest against the move by the company to set up a plastic recycling unit at Cherumalakunnu, in Peringamala. This comes after previous attempts to set up waste treatment facilities in the panchayat were dropped owing to local resistance.
Peringamala panchayat officials say the company had approached them for permission to source water from a nearby pond. “They submitted an application last month, but we haven’t issued any permission,” a panchayat official says.
Narendran Nair, a resident living close to the site, says: “This is a populated area and plastic processing facilities will pose serious environmental issues. They leased out the land and started moving in plastic waste. We are all against the project, which panchayat authorities admit they were unaware of. We have submitted a memorandum signed by more than 300 people to the panchayat.”
Following complaints, the panchayat has issued a stop memo to the company. “Now that the election duties are over, we will look into the issue in detail, and take necessary action,” says an official.
Have all the required clearances, says Pippa Co
Pippa Co Pvt Ltd officials have termed the current controversy ‘politically motivated’. “The operations of the plastic unit are legal and we have all clearances and licences for running the facility. We have the title deed for the land where the drinking water packaging unit has been functioning for the last 10 years.
The groundwater is depleting because of the acasia and manjiyam trees planted by the forest department,” said Manesh G Nair, sales manager of Pippa Co. “We have the clearance of the industries department to set up the plastic recycling unit. We want to set up the facility to avoid environmental pollution and we are ready to process the plastic generated in Peringamala panchayat.”
Parched @ Peringamala
It is alleged that unregulated groundwater extraction by a private packaged drinking water company has left tribal people grappling with acute water shortage
Peringamala is part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-recognised region of the Western Ghats
Pippa Company Private Ltd has been operating a drinking water extraction and processing unit in the protected forest area in Peringamala for the past 10 years
Owing to intensifying summers with each passing year and unregulated groundwater extraction, all traditional water sources have vanished
Tribal people are forced to venture into the woods, haunted by wild elephants every day, to source water from shallow pits deep inside the forest
The effort of the same company to set up a plastic processing unit in another location has irked the villagers. The panchayat has issued a stop-memo to the company, stalling their activities