The Salem Citizens Forum has presented a petition to the court seeking its direction to study the quantum of pollution caused to the water in the Mookaneri Lake in the city maintained by it following the immersion of a large number of Vinayaka idols during the Charturthi celebrations.
Piyush Sethia, convener of the Salem Citizens Forum, presented a petition in the Judicial Magistrate Court No. IV here on Friday stating that the Forum had adopted Mookaneri, a 58-acre water body, from the PWD on the order of the District Collector. The Forum successfully restored Mookkaneri and other water bodies in Salem apart from being part of various environmental struggles. The restored water body has led by example for several other such initiatives across the state.
During Vinayaka Chaturthi every year there is a rampant pollution and damage caused to Mookaneri by the various organisations by immersing the idols.
To avert the complete destruction of the already shrinked water body, the Forum dug up a small pond measuring 10,000 to 15,000 square feet at the entrance of the lake, exclusively for the purpose of immersion of idols. The major immersion took place during a rally of the idols taken out with the permission of the City Police on Sunday.
The petition stated that unfortunately, the pit has been polluted beyond imagination. The water has turned pitch black and stinks severely.
The petition pleaded with the court to order undertaking of a scientific study of the polluted water by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) laboratory to find out the root cause of pollution and how serious it is.
It also pleaded with the court to seek a report from the Commissioner of Police as to what steps his officers had taken to coordinate the whole event as per the orders of the High Court, Centre and the state government agencies to minimise the damage caused by the immersion of these idols to the water body. The High Court has already given several guidelines to be followed while immersion of idols to check pollution to the water.
It also pleaded to supervise the remedial measures to be undertaken and also appraise the higher court on the process followed in the implementation of the orders of the High Court. The petition has mentioned Commissioner of Police and the District Environment Engineer, TNPCB, as respondents in the petition.