The Kottooli wetland, one of the five notified wetlands in the State, is increasingly becoming a body of polluted water owing to uncontrolled dumping of sewage and restaurant waste in it. Vigilance put up by residents’ associations, health squad of the Kozhikode Corporation, and the police has not been effective enough in preventing the illegal activity.
“This has been happening for years. The Pachakkil canal, which empties into the Kottooli wetland, is a very convenient location for dumping sewage brought in tankers as it is on an isolated stretch of the national highway,” said M.N. Praveen, councillor of the Civil Station ward, who had recently brought up the issue in the Corporation Council.
The Corporation had recently conducted a mass cleaning drive along the Thondayad-Malaparamba stretch of the national highway, where solid waste dumping is most rampant. The police have started regular patrol on the stretch since then but have not keep it up due to several reasons.
