If you have walked or driven past Mariamman Teppakulam in the last two days, you must have noticed scores of residents and students cupping their hands to the nose. The stench from the four-centuries-old temple tank is now hostile towards evening walkers. Residents complain that there has been a spike in mosquito menace as well.
K.P. Gangadharan, a yoga instructor who teaches residents at a school near Mariamman Teppakulam, says that that the students, who usually practise yoga in the open, were unable to continue their regular session on Tuesday morning because of the stench.
Elaborating on Mr. Gengadharan’s concerns, S. Malaisamy, a resident of the nearby Teacher’s Colony, says that mosquito breeding is usually on the rise only during winter months. “This has extended to summer as well. We come here to enjoy the evening breeze and relax but the bites make us leave before nightfall,” he says.
S. Alwar, who visits the Teppakulam regularly for a game of Aadupuli aatam and for his walk, says that the stench spoils the entire purpose of the visit. “This is the state of the only open space in Madurai. Why isn’t this stench anticipated? Why did the authorities not do anything about it,” he asks.
Water in the Mariamman Teppakulam is now green and has a range of plastic items floating over its edges. Officials of Madurai Corporation explain that water from the Vaigai, which was first pumped into the tank late in October 2018 due to good flow in the river, later dried up. Authorities of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and the Corporation continued to retain the water for float festival which occurred on January 21. A senior corporation engineer says, “We tried to ensure that filtered water entered the temple tank, but it is evident that the mixing of sewage is causing the unpleasant smell. It is common for waterbodies to emit a certain smell when they dry up.”
Executive Officer of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple N. Natarajan says that the temple tried bio-remediation -- naturally occurring process where microbes clean up contaminated soil, groundwater and surface -- when the water was first let into the tank. “However, the already existing plants and roots may have got decomposed inside. We are well aware that the temple tank is often used in the evenings by a variety of people. Many of them tend to throw bottles, food items and plastic inside. This causes some stench as well,” he says. The official says that the temple is taking necessary steps to reattempt bio-remediation. “The stench will reduce in the next two days,” he assures.
Mariamman Teppakulam was built by King Thirumalai Nayak in 1645. This artificial reservoir measures 1000 feet by 950 feet and it is almost a square. Every year, the float festival is conducted during the Tamil month of Thai.
Published - February 20, 2019 09:10 am IST
