The Periyar’s plight
The pollution of Periyar is a continuing story, says Purushan Eloor, who has been working for the protection of the river relentlessly for 34 years. At the forefront of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi, a forum formed by local residents and environmental activists to fight pollution caused by industrial units in the Eloor-Edayar industrial belt, he has seen the river’s constant struggle for survival. As the research coordinator of the Samithi, he says despite the National Green Tribunal’s directive to clean up the Periyar and implement monitoring systems to check air and water pollution, in 2022, the situation of the river continues to be deplorable.
It is still battling the effects of effluents discharged into it by the industrial units built along its bank. “The Eloor-Edayar belt, the most polluted stretch, alone has over 285 industrial companies and over a 100 of them are in the red category,” says Purushan. Red category industries are those that deal with hazardous waste. “The effluents are raw, treated, or partially treated. Most of these industries do not have properly functioning wastewater treatment plants. Over 48 of them discharge effluents straight into the Periyar,” he adds.
