Madurai Corporation plans to treat sewage from Kiruthumal

Officials say that the tender for the project has been called and that the work will commence in another 15 days

Madurai

The legendary Kiruthumal river here, which runs almost parallel to the Vaigai, has degenerated into a sewage carrier, owing to public neglect.

But, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the city, the Corporation has planned to treat the sewage from the Kiruthumal and direct it towards the dry Sokkayee oorani (pond) at Chinthamani (ward 56). Corporation officials say that tender for the project has been called and that the work will commence in another 15 days.

A senior Corporation official says that the project has been proposed on a pilot basis as part of waterbodies restoration component under the Central government’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan. “Chithamani, which was annexed under the Corporation’s purview in 2011, does not have a well-connected underground drainage system and residents connect their septic tanks to the river. Hence, we decided to treat water from this portion of the river, which is highly polluted, and direct it to Sokkayee oorani,” says the official. According to the plan, a 300-metre-long PVC pipeline would connect Kiruthumal river on Keelatheru in Chinthamani to Sokkayee oorani located on Chintamani Main Road. The treatment of the sewage is undertaken through decentralised waste water treatment system.

Explaining its working, the official says, “Waste water enters septic tank through which heavy particles settle down. Then it passes through nine chambers where anaerobic decomposition takes place. Water is then routed through a gravel filter, where any addition of film of grease or oil settles down on pebbles. Water then passes through a polishing pond and finally reaches the pond,” he says.

K. Pandithurai, a long time resident of Chinthamani, says that the pond was earlier known as ‘Ganjendra oorani’. “According to history, when Goddess Meenakshi used to visit Chinthamani for an annual festival, her elephants used to take bath in this pond then. Earlier, a woman named ‘Sokkayee amma’ was taking care of a mandapam near the pond where Goddess Meenakshi used to take rest. Hence, over a period of time, the name of the pond got changed to Sokkayee oorani ” he says.

Mr. Pandithurai says that 30 years ago, the pond used to brim with water. “Earlier, the pond received water from the Panaiyur channel. But due to rapid urbanisation and encroachments by urban establishments, the inlet feeder of the pond is blocked. Today, only rainwater fills the pond for a few days,” he says.

Although there is no alarming water shortage at present, the groundwater tables are reducing gradually, says K. Sathaiyya, a resident of Chinna Anuppanadi.

“If water is available at the pond, it will help by recharging the groundwater level and improve the quality of water,” he says.