Toxic waste in stream: Firm gets closure notice

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala water authority (KWA) temporarily stopped pumping from its Kundamankadavu pump house following chemical contamination in a stream near its source. The health wing of the city corporation has slapped closure notice on an electroplating unit in Vayalikkada in this regard. The action was taken after finding that employees of the unit dumped chemical waste in a drain leading to the stream.
KWA officials said that they have resumed pumping by Sunday night after finding that samples taken from near the KWA source were not contaminated.
Residents had noticed floating dead fish in the stream that leads to Karamana River at Vayalikara, around 2-3km away from the pump house on Sunday morning. Following the complaint, corporation officials visited the area and found that a local firm – Matha Industries, which is engaging in electroplating works – has dumped chemical waste into the drain on Saturday evening.
Health standing committee chairman I P Binu said that a team of officials from corporation, including three health inspectors, reached the spot on Sunday morning. He said that samples collected will be sent for testing on Monday.
“We got complaints that people spotted dead fish in the stream near Haritha Nagar at Vayalikkada, Vazhottukonam. In the preliminary investigation, we found that the staff had dumped a chemical named ‘Surfolin sk 40’, an alkaline soak cleaner, into the drain, which seem to have caused the contamination. We have collected samples from the firm, drain and the stream,” he said. Binu said that people depending on KWA water should use only boiled water for drinking purpose.
“The firm has been asked to arrange three tanks to purify water. It has been directed to release water to drain only after purification,” said health inspector S S Minu.
The Vattiyoorkavu police have registered a case suo motu in connection with the incident, invoking relevant sections for polluting water sources of the public. “The health department officials have collected samples from the stream to find out the nature of toxic material dumped into the stream,” said Vattiyoorkavu sub-inspector D Suvarnakumar.
As KWA stopped pumping for several hours, water supply was disrupted in areas such as Vattiyoorkavu, Thirumala, Poojappura, Karamana, Valiyavila and Vellayambalam. KWA officials said that water supply will be normalized in these areas only by Monday noon.