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City’s pollution woes continue to mount
City’s pollution woes continue to mount, Vijayawada, which is the biggest urban conglomeration adjacent to the proposed capital region, continues to struggle with pollution issues.
Vijayawada, which is the biggest urban conglomeration adjacent to the proposed capital region, continues to struggle with pollution issues. In spite of several concerns expressed by citizens, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is still at the forefront in contributing to water pollution.
Untreated sewage is dumped into the three canals that transect the city into pieces at 52 points — 32 into Bandar Canal, 12 into Eluru Canal and eight into Ryve’s Canal. A huge quantity of sewage is dumped directly into the Krishna River, upstream Prakasam Barrage.
CPI (M) corporator Ch Babu Rao said, “There has been no progress whatsoever in keeping a tab on pollution of Krishna River and the three irrigation canals which were once a source of drinking water to Eluru and hundreds of villages in the Krishna and West Godavari districts. Most of the sewage treatment plants linked to the underground drainage are reportedly not working to their full capacity.”
“The ruling party is mulling on sending a report to the Central government seeking financial assistance to overcome the problem. Besides this, there are no other efforts to rectify the pollution problem,” Babu Rao added.
It was pointed out by various environmentalists that the air and groundwater pollution caused by the Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS) was resulting in crop loss. There is a possibility of mercury, from the fly-ash, polluting both the Krishna River and the groundwater.
National Alliance of People’s Movements activists have opposed a titanium dioxide plant that would soon come up at Gudimetla village in Chandarlapadu mandal upstream Prakasam barrage. They cited the poor record of such plants in other parts of the country.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, Krishna is in the list of rivers in which the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is on the rise.
“While most of the elected representatives are oblivious to these facts, officials have chosen to be silent spectators to the slow poisoning of the environment,” said K Vikram Rao, an environmental activist.
