Abuse of Cooum as waterbody raises a stink in the city

CHENNAI: The river sources have become a dump yard across Chennai. Despite the city facing the water shortage issues, denizens are involved in various practices which kill the waterbodies. The Cooum river which is an integral part of the socio-economic culture of the city has been contaminated for a very long period of time. The river has been polluted with industrial wastes, untreated sewage discharge and solid waste dumping.

From the top of the bridge constructed above the Cooum river in Chetpet the denizens throw waste into the river. A nearby seller shares that even if we ask the people about disposal of waste into the waterbody the reaction is that it is not the concern of us. It is the mentality of people which must be changed, he added.

Vigasini Sivakumar, a daily commuter through the bridge said, “There has been an instance where I have seen a woman carrying a big baggage with waste come to the bridge and throw it into the water. People do come from far places to dump the waste in the waterbody”.

Along with the people dumping the waste into the river there is direct flow of waste from the nearby private building into the water source. There is a way through which the water flows into the river.

When contacted Corporation 108 ward member L Sunderrajan said that the issue will be looked into by the authorities concerned.