Discharge of sewage into the Uyyakondan canal in Tiruchi continues unabated

The canal, which flows through the city, runs for a distance of about 71 km from Pettavaithalai to Vazhavanthankottai. It serves as an important source for irrigating about 32,000 acres and feeding 36 tanks.

Though the canal is being subjected to pollution at various points from the start to end, the seven km stretch between Palakkarai and Ariyamangalam in the city has been degraded as the sewage canal due to the letting of sewage from the houses and the commercial establishments situated along the canal on both sides.

Several steps were taken in the past to check the residents and traders letting sewage into the canal. It was expected that the establishment of an underground drainage network would effectively prevent the practice. However, it continues in different points along the canal. The Tiruchi Corporation, which had identified 34 vulnerable points of letting sewage into the canal, did conduct awareness programmes at various residential colonies situated along the canal. However, the practice has not been brought under control.

Civic activists claim that commercial establishments, including hospitals, restaurants, meat stalls, and others continued to dump garbage, rotting fish and poultry waste. The issue is rampant from Natarajapuram in Palakkarai and the residential colonies further downstream of the canal in the city. Brushing aside the warning of the civic body, many residents let sewage into the canal through pipes.

“We consider the Uyyakondan canal as a great gift to the people of Tiruchi. But it is unfortunate that the authorities concerned pay little attention to prevent dumping of waste and check sewage. The civic body should impose a hefty penalty to those letting sewage into the canal,” says K.C. Neelamegam of ‘Thanneer’, an organisation that works for preserving nature and the environment.

He said that the canal had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, insects and rodents, thereby troubling residents living along the riverbank. Special teams or committees should be formed to patrol along the riverbank to prevent residents and vendors from discharging sewage into the canal.