Wastes floating in the teppakulam in Sivaganga.
| Photo Credit: L. BALACHANDAR

A waterbody sprawling on an area of more than five acres in the centre of Sivaganga town due to continuous garbage dumping and release of sewage into it, has become highly polluted.  

A resident of Sivaganga who used the teppakulam since his childhood days, said the water body was used by the residents for taking bath and to fetch drinking water.  Though it was not associated with any religion, people as a ritual used to take bath early in the mornings, he added.  

The ‘padithurais’ which were built along the water body displayed the importance given to the teppakulam by the early rulers and the administrations that followed, he said.  

P. Maruthu, deputy district secretary, Communist Party of India, said the water body which was at least in a usable condition in the last four to five years, due to the release of household drainage into the channels carrying water to the teppakulam, has become highly polluted and has been rendered unfit to use.  

He was worried that the continuous negligence by both the district administration and municipality would lead to irrevocable damage to the century-old-water body.  

“Not just that, people also treat it as a garbage dump, casually throwing household wastes and food leftovers and waste packed in polythene bag into the water,” Mr. Maruthu said.  

He suggested that even if the municipality could monitor or manage it on a regular basis, actions should at least be taken to deploy non-governmental organisations or students through a drive to clean the water body periodically. 

As the garbage remains in the water for months and years together, a stench arises from the waste. It repels people from going near the tank, he added.  

Only if the teppakulam is filled with enough water, groundwater level would also increase.  

For that purpose, during previous administrations, water was directed twice from the Periyar canal to be filled in the water body, he said.  

 A municipality official said that teppakulam was cleaned recently for ‘teppathiruvizha.’ 

Regarding the release of wastewater into the teppakulam, he said that notices have been served to houses who were found to have released waste water into the channels.  Further, they were instructed to redirect their drainage lines to the underground drainage connections, he added.