The small town of Udhagamandalam, which suffers from heavy rains and sewage water during ordinary downpours, experienced the problem again by being affected in low-lying parts due to unregulated disposal of plastics and medical wastes as well as dead animals into Kodappamund channel.
On Monday evening, a small drizzle came from nowhere for about two hours and dropped fifty millimeters of rain on Udhagamandalam causing the bus depot at Udhagamandalam bus stand to be flooded.
For safety purposes the traffic had to be stopped when waters reached up to the surrounding areas around bus stand and railway station.
On Tuesday we visited mouth of Kodappamund Channel where it begins as a pristine stream coming down Doddabetta less than five kilometers upstream before getting contaminated with sewerage waste and other dumpings, in turn leading to pipe blocked with tons of plastic that goes to Ooty Lake.
According to Water Resources Department employees who were at the site since 6.00 am on Tuesday, they were clearing out rubbish that had piled up near the mouth of an outlet pipe draining into Ooty’s Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP).
They said along with many tons of plastic blocking this pipe there also be used needles not properly disposed off with them going all this distance alongside other medical refuse through sewage channels. “People even dump animal carcasses including pet animals that have died into the channel,” said one of the workers.
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) officials acknowledged that heavy showers had caused delays in bus services but stated most water from depot subsided by Monday evening. “Also we have written WRD for more desilting work on Kodappamund channel so that it could enhance its carrying capacity during heavy rainfall,” he said.
The non-enforcement against households and businesses using Kodappamund channel as a dumping point is blamed for most of these floods. “A very stringent channel monitoring system with CCTV cameras along the entire stream to identify those polluting it and subsequent action needs to be put in place,” said G. Janardhanan, president of the Ooty Public Awareness Association.
