Don’t blame MCC; take action against industries: Mayor tells KSPCB

Mangaluru, May 19: Rubbishing the allegation of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) officials that the Mangaluru City Corporation’s sewage treatment plant at Pachanady has been releasing effluents to Gurupur/Phalguni river, Mayor Kavitha Sanil on Friday blamed the untreated industrial discharge for the contamination of the water on the downstream of the Maravoor vented dam that led to fish carnage besides causing inconveniences to local residents.

Speaking to media persons, Ms Sanil said that the civic body has created necessary facilities to treat water in its sewage treatment plants. “The allegation made against MCC is far from truth. The contamination of the water is due to the untreated industrial discharge that comes from Kongoor near Kulshekar. The KSPCB officials should take action against those industries instead of trying to protect them by levelling false charge against MCC,” she said.

Ms Sanil, who visited the spot the previous day along with MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazir and KSPCB officials, said that they have come to know that waste water from Managalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), JBF Petrochemicals Limited, Baikampady and Kenjaru are being directly released to the river. The waste water from Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Limited (KMF) is also being discharged to the river, she said.

The Mayor, who is also a member of the KSPCB, said that she has attended several meetings relating to issues such as this, and the government has successfully shut down 92 industries that have contributed in contamination of rivers. “The PCB has the right to file an FIR against these industries. I will raise this issue in the board meeting, next month,” she said.

The pollution is evident at the Maravoor vented dam, where the water has turned black and smelly downstream, as no fresh water was let out from the dam.

“During an inspection around November or December, last year, the water was so clean that locals were seen scooping it up in their bare hands and drinking it”, Mohammed Nazir said.

He also recalled a complaint that was filed 4 years ago, over a similar issue where effluents from Pachchanady were mixing downstream and contaminating the Phalguni River.