MAYILADHUTHURAI: Taking the fight against alleged pollution of the Veeracholan further, a 38-year-old activist here on Thursday did a two-hour headstand by the river banks to bring the plight of the waterbody to the attention of the authorities. He succeeded in his act, making the district collector to visit the spot and assure of action on the issue.
Getting down to the banks, K Kathiravan of Eluppur performed the headstand next to the stagnant waters ridden with invasive flora. Save for a few minutes of relaxation in between, he continued to do the headstand in the heat for around two hours.
"The river has become a sewer from discharge of sullage from the households and shops around Sankaranpanthal into it. There has been no action over our petitions for years. We demand action on the issue," said Kathiravan.
Several people gathered by the river and supported the electrician’s cause. His friend, M Vinoth, told TNIE, "The pollution has hit our drinking water sources badly. The water stinks. The water table has gone down, from 15 feet to hundreds of feet below due to the encroachment of the river and the waterways connected to it. The invasive growth has not been removed. The river is not getting desilted regularly. We have placed petitions earlier with collectors many a time and even got responses, but there has been no action on it."
While the police arrived at the spot and requested Kathiravan to give up his protest, he stood firm in continuing his demonstration till the collector dropped in. Collector R Lalitha subsequently arrived around 10 am and appealed to Kathiravan to give up his protest. She lent an ear to the grievances of Kathiravan
and his friends, and assured of action into the complaints over river pollution and encroachment on it. She advised him not to resort to such risky protests, especially when the Cauvery release from Mettur dam is set to reach the district in a few days.
Kathiravan was later taken to a primary health centre and given intravenous fluids before being taken home. Later, PWD officials arrived at Eluppur, and guided by Vinoth and others, inspected
the river passing through the village.