Affidavit filed by the Mulanthuruthy Grama Panchayat on Konothupuzha river pollution, Ernakulam, Kerala, 10/02/2021
Affidavit filed by the Mulanthuruthy Grama Panchayat, Ernakulam district, Kerala on pollution of Konothupuzha river which branches out as a tributary of the Thripunithura-Chambakkara Canal and joins the Vembanad lake. The Konothupuzha river traverses through a short distance of the Mulathuruthy Grama Panchayat.
On preliminary examination, it was noted that there was no effluent discharge to Konothupuzha river from the residences within the limits of Mulathuruthy Grama Panchayat. There was no centralized sewage treatment mechanism in the panchayat and all houses have soak pits/septic tanks to process domestic wastes without discharging them to rivers or other water source. Steps were being taken to clean the mud and restore and ensure the water flow of canals and channels in all cultivable paddy fields in the panchayat by including the said works in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act2005 (MNREGA) scheme. This included the channels that joins the Konothupuzha river.
Further, the restoration of the Konothupuzha river which has a length of over 17 kilometers can be done only as an integrated programme.