As the country awaits the spread of the monsoon, the water level in 84 major reservoirs crucial for irrigation and power generation is running below the levels of last year.

No positive action taken till date to sort out problem of discharging untreated effluents into water sources

While people in the world observing the World Environment Day and discussing measures to protect the Mother Nature on Tuesday, it is business as usual for many textile processing and tannery units in Erode district. A few textile processing and tannery units located in BP Agraharam and its nearby areas dumped huge amount of untreated, toxic effluents in a water carrying channel that flows into Cauvery River. The colour of the water turned black in the channel and the acidic smell emanated from the effluents.

Is India’s thirst for fresh water causing ocean levels to rise? Experts warn that the backwaters of Kerala and the deltas of the Ganga, Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery and Mahanadi on the east coast are being threatened by rising ocean levels.

A recent Nasa study had confirmed that water tables in north India were declining at the rate of one foot per year across the northern states of India with even the ministry of water resources admitting that 109 cubic kilometres of water was lost from the aquifers along the Indus river alone.

NAMAKKAL: The Cauvery river, the main source of water for most parts of the state, is facing a serious threat from the untreated industrial effluents, particularly from dyeing units and sewerage, being let into it.

On a stretch of about 80 km in the district, two municipalities and five town panchayats contribute hugely to the contamination of the river water. Nearly 10 million litres of sewage is let into the Cauvery by Kumarapalayam and Pallipalayam municipalities, while a half of that quantity flows into the channels that connect the river from town panchayats -Venkarai, Paundamangalam, Velur, Pothanur and Mohanur situated along the banks.

Minister says letter was sent on Saturday

In response to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's allegation on Sunday that the Kerala government was preventing officials of her State from closing the holes drilled for tests on the Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala has clarified that it had written to Tamil Nadu on Saturday stating categorically that it had no objection to the work, a stance it had made clear even two months ago.

An attempt was made on Monday in a meeting of the official-level Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CRM) “to narrow down the differences” between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the sharing of Cauvery waters under the Cauvery Disputes Tribunal Award.

Well- placed sources in the Union Ministry of Water Resources said the details of what transpired in the meeting will be sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who chairs the political-level Cauvery River Authority. Based on the Ministry's report the Prime Minister is expected to take a call on convening a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority.

“The Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers have experienced dramatic changes in flow due to the construction of dams, anthropogenic contamination and other activities, National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) senior scientist Dr S. Masood Ahmad said here on Sunday.

“The Godavari would require significant intervention to protect its ecosystems and the people, who are mainly dependent on its river basins,” he added. (About 135 million people inhabit the river basins of the Godavari and Krishna.)

Bathing ghats remain dilapidated; mosquitoes find breeding ground

Though the temple town of Kumbakonam is blessed with the Cauvery, the glory of the river seems to be slowly dwindling with it being turned into a cesspool during summer and dumping yard for plastics and other wastes. Senior citizens feel that the river could be put into good recreational use by converting it into a boating paradise when it is in full flow.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Lok Sabha on Monday, AIADMK member from Pollachi K. Sugumar said that Karnataka was also trying to divert the flow of the river to its territory depriving of the benefit to Tamil Nadu.

The construction of the check dam and diversion of water of Thenpennai by the Karnataka Government would affect Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts in his State, he said.Karnataka had not communicated to Tamil Nadu about the proposal and also had not sought its consent.