DHARMAPURI: As the water inflow in Hogenakkal has dwindled to less than 1000 cusecs, a large quantity of plastic wastes, clothes and food waste on the river bed was exposed, emanating a foul smell and causing distress to tourists.
Hogenakkal is one of the famous tourist sites in the Dharmapuri district. At its peak season between March and May, more than 10,000 people visit the tourist site daily. However since the season came to a close in early June, the water levels in Hogenakkal had been reducing and presently it has an inflow of only 1000 cusecs. These low inflow levels have exposed the massive pollution in Hogenakkal. The Cauvery River beds have been found littered with food waste, plastic waste, clothes and other commodities that have also been dumped into the river.
Speaking to TNIE, J Sureshkumar, a resident of Pennagaram told TNIE, “Apart from being a tourism site, Hogenakkal is also a pilgrimage site. People from all over Dharmapuri arrive here to perform last rites and participate in other religious ceremonies every day. So most often articles of clothing will be abandoned here. Moreover, tourists who arrive here would also leave behind some wet clothes on the shore and this too will be washed away by the fluctuating water levels. Hence the clothes being deposited on the shores is a common sight.”
N Anandhan, a tourist who recently visited Hogenkkal said, “There was food waste littered all over and the waters were murky. The most appalling thing was the sheer amount of clothes which have been deposited in the sore, they produce foul smell and causes discomfort to the people.”
A resident of Hogenakkal, K Muniappan said, “We do have waste bins in Hogenakkal every 15 feet. But tourists do not often use them. Be it food waste or plastic waste they just dump it in the river. In the upcoming months, an ‘Aadi Peruku’ event has been planned to be hosted in Hogenakkal. We hope that a clean-up will be undertaken here.”
Another resident of Hogenakkal, R Prabhu said, “The BDO office must undertake regular clean up. It has been a month since the annual season came to a close. But so far no clean-up has been undertaken here. The Pennagaram town panchayat and Koothapadi gram panchayat have poor solid waste management and just looking at the pathetic situation of Hogenakkal is proof of their negligence.”
When TNIE spoke to Pennagaram Block Development Officer, K Kalpana said, “The Dharmapuri Collector K Santhi has been notified of the issue and a team of workers will be brought from either the municipality or other town panchayats to aid in the clean-up. In the next week, a massive cleanup will be undertaken, and preparation works are underway. As Hogenakkal covers a vast area large manpower and proper planning are required.”