Members of Tamil Nadu Vivasaayigal Sangam staged a demonstration here on Tuesday urging the State Government to initiate immediate steps to protect the Tamirabharani from rampant pollution and provide drought relief to farmers of the district. The protestors said the Tamirabharani, lifeline of three southern districts, should be protected from domestic and industrial pollution and encroachment by forming a monitoring committee headed by the Collector. Besides reviewing the state of the perennial river on a regular basis, the proposed committee should take all out efforts to save the river from pollution caused by the industrial houses at Ambasamudram, Cheranmahadevi, Pazhavoor etc. and encroachments of all sorts. According to a study conducted by Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environmental Science, Alwarkurichi, faecal coliform bacterial content in the 125 km-long Tamirabharani would increase manifold during the past several years, particularly after ‘Aadi amaavaasai’ festival at Sorimuthu Ayyanar temple near Papanasam Dam. “The faecal coliform bacterial content, which would be in the range of 18 – 24 MPN (Most Probable Number) in 2004 and 30 to 40 MPN in 2010, has crossed 1,100 MPN during the ‘Aadi amaavaasai’ festival and this alarming scenario continues for several days, which shows the gravity of the situation,” says A.G. Murugesan, faculty member of Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environmental Science, who used to investigate the level of pollution after this celebration every year. The protesting TNVS activists also suggested that the district administration should take sustained steps for creating awareness among the public, particularly the villagers living close to the watercourse, on conserving the perennial river from being smothered by sand mafia, who plundered arguably the costliest construction material round-the-clock for several years and sold it in neighbouring Kerala for a premium. “Only by liberating the Tamirabharani from pollution, encroachment and sand mining, the administration can ensure regular supply of safe drinking water to the public in adequate quantity,” said S.V. Krishnan, former MLA and Tirunelveli district president of TNVS. Though the district administration evicted illegal construction on July 5, 2012 by removing over 300 houses – both temporary and permanent – no sustained action was taken to remove encroachments of all sorts right from Papanasam to the tail-end of the river in neighbouring Tuticorin district. The protestors also said the State Government should allot Rs. 1,000 crore in five instalments for desilting the dams and irrigations tanks across the district and to repair the shutters of the waterbodies to give impetus to farming activities. Communist Party of India office bearers S. Kasi Viswanathan, R. Kasamuthu, P. Perumbadaiyaar, A.M. Sathyan, and others spoke.