Cauvery water enters Tamil Nadu from Karnataka at Dabhakuzhi near Biligundulu in Dharmapuri district and the river endures rampant pollution from Mettur till the time it enters the sea in Poompuhar.
Cauvery is pumped from a place 100 km away from Bengaluru, making it Asia’s costliest water. The city receives about 1,390 million litres per day (MLD) water, and sewage of an equal amount or more is generated. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has 24 sewage treatment plants capable of treating only about 760 MLD. Remaining sewage flows directly into the lakes.
auvery’s tributaries, Noyyal and Bhavani, carry a considerable amount of pollution. The Noyyal is as good as dead due to effluents released by more than 700 dyeing units in Tiruppur. From Karur to Tiruchirapalli, the river flows at its broadest and is called Akanda Cauvery. Here, the river is put to severe stress due to rampant sand mining, which goes unabated till date despite numerous strictures by the Madras High Court.
Though the polluted water undergoes some natural cleaning process by the time it reaches the Delta region, letting of sewage and dumping of garbage and hospital waste into the river pollute it further, making the water unfit for drinking and sometimes even for irrigation.
Activists allege that the industries in the Cauvery belt release untreated effluents into the river during the night to escape the wrath of local people. The paper mill owned by the Tamil Nadu government near Karur is also a major cause for
water pollution in the area and activists allege the factories on the banks of the river consume more water than they are allowed to pump.
Picture Credit : Google