MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the State government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed regarding the mixing of sewage water, garbage and effluents into the Bay of Bengal at Rameswaram.
The litigant, P Markandan of Ramanathapuram, submitted in his petition that it is considered holy to take a dip in the ocean after performing puja in the Ramanathaswamy temple at Rameswaram. Including Agni Theertham, there are 64 'theerthams' in and around the temple. Since the ocean water, which feeds the 'theerthams', is already polluted severely, the water quality of the theerthams has worsened, thereby affecting the devotees, he alleged.
Citing the inaction of the municipality and temple authorities in addressing this issue, the litigant requested the court to direct the authorities to stop the discharge of waste into the ocean. A Bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad issued a notice to the municipal administration department among others and adjourned the case for a week.