Dumping of wastes in quarries by Tiruppur City Corporation renders groundwater unfit for consumption in Mudhalipalayam

The alarmingly-high TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) count in water samples tested in Mudhalipalayam village where the Tiruppur City Corporation had been dumping its municipal wastes has rendered the groundwater unfit for drinking.

Four water samples collected from different locations surrounding the dump site where the Corporation had been discarding 570 tonnes of municipal wastes every day were tested at the District Environmental Laboratory of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

The TDS count in a leachate water sample taken from an abandoned quarry north of the dump site was found to be as much as 120050 ppm. The toxic water warrants specialised technologies and multi-stage treatment system.

One water sample taken from a borewell at Jeeva Jothi Nagar in the vicinity of the borewell was tested to have 4754 ppm.

Water samples from two open wells, one 540 metres away and another at a distance of 700 metres, both northwest of the dumpsite site revealed TDS counts of 7808 ppm and 7706 ppm respectively.

The acceptable TDS level of 300 ppm (parts per million) is recommended by World Health Organisation, while the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) recommends an acceptable limit of 500 ppm.

Displaying plastic resin bottles filled with the brackish leachate water, villages of Mudhalipalayam forced the district authorities to cancel the Gram Sabha meeting that had to be postponed on October 2, due to the resistance of the villagers, for the second time on November 1 as well.

The Mudhalipalayam panchayat has itself put up a board at the location of its borewell in the village that the water is unfit for consumption.

Apprehending threat to their very livelihood, the villagers have planned to stage sit-in protest at the City Corporation premises along with their livestock and pets, on November 4.

Espousing the cause of Mudhalipalayam residents, P. Velusamy, progressive farmer and environmental activist, demanded that the water and air pollution caused by the dumping of wastes must be declared a manmade disaster.