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Periyar panel to explore foul play

KOCHI: An expert committee probing the discolouration of Periyar waters from time to time will look into the suspicion of foul play behind such incidents.

The first meeting of the committee constituted by the government will meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Elaborating on the objectives of the expert body, S. D. Jeyaprasad, member secretary of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, told The Hindu that it will examine the possibility of any foul play involved in the discolouration of the Periyar. “We will also analyse available data on the discolouration of the river,” he said.

The committee was formed following the July 8 incident of discolouration. Inquiries by the board officials had ruled out industrial pollution causing the phenomenon.

Explaining that the presence of iron, zinc, titanium, chloride and sulphate was very normal on July 8, Mr. Jeyaprasad said the discolouration was an offshoot of the collapse of the temporary Pathalam bund set up across the river.

The reddish brown colour was due to the high presence of silica content in red earth used for constructing the bund. Earlier, the bund was constructed using sand bags, he said.

Backing his contention that there was no effluent discharge from industries, Mr. Jeyaprasad said no fish death was noticed. He said the reddish brown colour was short-lived and it faded soon.

It is learnt that the expert committee will study similar incidents of discolouration in the past. In its report on September 6, 2006, the board had concluded that there was a “distinct possibility of discolouring matter being added into the river by miscreants.”

The board had then said that the September 6 incident occurred five days before a crucial meeting of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes in New Delhi. But the board officials had failed to identify the discolouring matter used. It was found that only a mild quantity was used for the purpose.

The expert committee will make a detailed study of these incidents before submitting its report to the government. Besides Mr. Jeyaprasad, it consists of Ajayakumar Verma, executive officer, Suchithva Mission; Kamalakshan Kokkal, principal scientific officer, State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and Jayakumar, scientist, Centre for Water Resources Development Kozhikode, among others.

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