The increase in pollution of river Lakshmanatheertha in Hunsur has triggered concerns from the local community who have sought immediate steps to rejuvenate the river.
Though the issue has been brought to the notice of the authorities repeatedly, there is dismay that no concrete action has been taken to reduce the pollution levels in the river.
S. Sreekanth of Development through Education said that untreated drainage and sewage enters the river body at 13 different places as a result of which the water from the river is not potable.
The untreated drainage from Manjunath Nagar meanders through different areas of the city collecting more sewage and pollutants along the way and enters the river near Shabeer Nagar.
There are also concerns and allegations that biomedical wastes are disposed of in the river in a clandestine manner and there was no check on it by the authorities. Besides, wet waste from hotels and restaurants finds its way into the river while bottles, plastic mugs, and paper cups from bars are dumped into the river adding to the pollution, according to Mr. Sreekanth.
He said while there was no check on sewage from the town entering the river, there are also incidents of trucks and vehicles from Kodagu and Kerala dumping the waste into the river and driving on. “Such practices are being questioned by the people of the town but the authorities have failed to crack down on the offenders,” said Mr. Sreekanth.
Lashmanatheertha which takes its birth in the Bramagiri range in Kodagu is a tributary of the Cauvery and joins the river at Sagarkatte in the upstream of the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir. In the process, it carries the high level of pollutants to the KRS and the Cauvery. The Cauvery in turn is the source of drinking water for not only Mysuru and other towns in the vicinity but also Bengaluru.
In 2019, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board conducted a study and said that the total polluted stretch of the river is about 10 km from Hunsur to the Kattemalalavvadi barrage. It also noted that there were no industrial units discharging effluents into the river but domestic sewage to the extent of 8 MLD was generated and only 40 per cent of the town had UGD facility.
Though the KSPCB suggested that CMC Hunsur should provide 100 per cent UGG system to the entire town it was yet to be completed, said Mr. Sreekanth. Being the lifeline of the town, it has to be rejuvenated as it also concerns the health of the people in the downstream, he added.
