THOOTHUKUDI: When the cold dawn broke in Thoothukudi town a few weeks ago, the tea shops drew the usual suspects. One of the grey-haired men spread out the day’s newspaper and zeroed in on a report. “HC tells state government to consider plea to rename Thamirabarani back to its old name Porunai,” the man read aloud. In response, another man quipped, “Before changing names and pin codes, if only the government took some effort to clean that river.” Many tea glasses hit the run-down stall tables in concurrence.
Embracing ancient irrigation tanks, stone mandapams, bathing ghats and a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, the Thamirabarani River originates from the Podhigai Hills. It traverses 128 km through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi before merging into the Gulf of Mannar. The waterbody has eight anaicuts. Going by the findings of recent surveys, the Thamirabarani river civilisation is around 3,200 years old.
Literary sources reveal the ancient anaicuts exhibit unique engineering features which helped expand the agricultural activities in the river valley. “The river basin makes for a glorious irrigation system due to these anaicuts built centuries ago. These structures require enhanced upkeep and be exhibited to the world,” said Muthalankurichi Kamarasu, a writer.
However, locals said the powers seem to be turning a blind eye towards its pollution. The ancient river is befouled by the release of sullage and sewage from the local settlements along the banks in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, Kamarasu said.
A National Green Tribunal (NGT) committee found that over 10 MLD of sullage was entering the river ecosystem from at least 20 locations in Vikramasingepuram and Ambasamudram municipalities. Moreover, million litres of wastewater reach the river at 101 places in eight town panchayats. Activist Manickam Arumugam of Srivaikuntam laments that the pollution level is high at the river tail-end in Thoothukudi, as the draining of wastewater goes unchecked upstream.
The daily discharge of sewage amounting to 20 lakh litres at 35 locations from Tirunelveli corporation areas can be stopped only after completion of the Under Ground Sewerage Scheme phase 2 and phase 3 projects, sources from the urban civic body said.
The committee suggested the construction of Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System (DEWATs), a nature-based solution, to avoid contamination of the river and its irrigation channels in town panchayats. But only 48 places of 101 identified spots have enough area to accommodate this system.
Social activist and litigant SP Muthuraman said even the DEWATs which were constructed choked within a few days and wastewater bypassed the structures at multiple places. Meanwhile, the committee did not inspect the places where Thamirabarani was polluted in Thoothukudi. He rued that even an NGT order, which came seven years after the plea was filed, yielded no remedy.
Assistant Professor M Josephraj of the history department at Holy John College, recently carried out a field survey from Papanasam to Punnaikayal. He visited 86 stone mandapams along the Thamirabarani river, and 54 of them were in shambles, becoming a haven for anti-social elements. “Some of the mandapams, including the one at Cheranmahadevi, contain inscriptions and are in urgent need of preservation and documentation,” he said.
Another year has passed by, but activists and residents who have been urging the state to rid Tamil Nadu’s only perennial river of pollution, are still denied a respite.