5 teams to monitor effluents release into the Cauvery, says Environment Minister

The state government has constituted five teams comprising engineers of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to study if dyeing effluents are discharged into Cauvery river and its tributaries.

Days after a recent IIT-Madras study confirmed the presence of Pharmaceutical contaminants in Cauvery river water, State Minister for Environment-Climate Change and Youth Welfare and Sports Developmen Siva V Meyyanathan, on Saturday said that five teams of TNPCB engineers were constituted on October 6 to study if dyeing units in Erode,

Komarapalayam, Pallipalayam, Karur and Tiruppur discharge effluents into Cauvery river or its tributaries. The teams are inspecting the dyeing units in the aforesaid areas and ascertaining if they were discharging effluents into Cauvery River and its tributaries. The team of engineers on Saturday collected water samples from

Cauvery from Mettur to Mayiladuthurai and sent the samples for testing, Meyyanathan informed. Steps are being taken to receive suggestions from IIT among the experts to prevent pollution of Cauvery river owing to discharge of heavy metals, pesticides, biomedical and plastic wastes into the river, he added.

The minister assured to make efforts to protect key water resources like Cauvery River in the state based on the inspection report. The study by IIT-M researchers revealed that pharmaceutically active compounds, heavy metals, pesticides, flame retardants and plastics among the contaminants were present in Cauvery water.

The minister assured to make efforts to protect key water resources like Cauvery river in state based on the inspection report