TIRUPPUR: A break in pipeline taking effluent from dyeing units to the common effluent treatment plant on Saturday resulted in waste water flowing into the Noyyal near Mangalam town.
Farmers complained that untreated effluent had flowed into some farmlands in the area. Pollution control board (PCB) officials are investigating.
KS Thirugnanasampandan, chief coordinator of Noyyal Farmers Protection Association, said, “The Noyyal river starts in Coimbatore, flows through Tiruppur and Erode, and drains into the Cauvery river at Karur.
There are many farmers who depend on this river. The Noyyal is already polluted by industrial effluents. Now, due to negligence of PCB officials, dye effluents are getting mixed in the river.”
According to him, the leakage happened on Saturday evening in Mangalam on the right bank of the Noyyal. This resulted in dye effluents mixing with the river. Effluents from dyeing units at Mangalam are taken to the CETP in Sultanpet through the pipe.
“There are several dyeing units along the Noyyal river from Coimbatore to Karur. Of these, industries in Tiruppur district claim to follow zero discharge system. However, dyeing waste continues to flow into the Noyyal,” he added.
Speaking to TNIE, M Senthil Kumar, District Environment Engineer of PCB, said, “We are investigating this matter and inspected the spot on Sunday. It revealed that untreated waste did not mix with the river. The total dissolved solids (TDS) level in the river was 1,500 on Sunday which is normal. However, samples have been taken for test.”
“These leakages are caused by blockages in manholes of the pipeline. We have ordered the relevant plants to fix the leakages. We have banned the sending of untreated sewage to CETP until then,” he added.