TIRUNELVELI
Taking the most important initiative towards making the Tamirabharani water drinkable by 2024 without any cleaning process, the district administration has started working on implementing a new natural procedure to avert flow of grey water into the river.
As a first step, a workshop for implementers of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) was organised here on Wednesday by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society (CDD) and ‘Nellai Neervalam’.
DEWATS, a nature-based system designed for managing domestic wastewater from polluting the environment and the river, is being implemented here to save the Tamirabharani.
“With growing urbanization and compaction of built areas, the drainage outlets get amplified and the final destination of wastewater is either wetlands or rivers. Many small towns and villages in Tirunelveli district have been releasing the drain water directly into the river. With orders from courts and Green Tribunal highlighting the issues, many Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems have been planned here,” said Collector V. Vishnu who organised and inaugurated the workshop.
While there is a plan to implement DEWATS systems, there is a gap in implementing it more sustainably. So, ATREE and CDD have joined hands with Tirunelveli district administration in redesigning the NBDS (Nature Based Decentralized Systems) as many of CDD India’s models have been piloted successfully across the country and are easy to replicate at the sites where conventional DEWATS is not functioning to the required efficiency levels.
The current design has been assessed and improvements have been suggested after on-ground surveys.
“The workshop will help build the capacity of the implementers who will be in-charge of creating the systems in their jurisdiction. The team will highlight the efficiency of DEWATS combined with nature-based solutions for treating and managing grey-black water. Wastewater management systems with greener and more efficient designs would ensure healthier and cleaner Tamirabharani,” Mr. Vishnu said while inaugurating the event on Wednesday.
Commissioner, Tirunelveli Corporation, V. Siva Krishnamurthy, Assistant Director, Town Panchayats, Kandasamy, Scientist, ATREE, Srinivas Badiger, Project Manager, CDD India, Rohini Pradeep, Coordinator, ATREE’s Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Centre, Manimutharu, and other experts trained the participants.
Commissioners of Vickramasingapuram and Ambasamudram municipalities, Executive Officers of Kallidaikurichi, Veeravanallur, Cheranmahadevi, Gopalasamudram and Naranammalpuram Town Panchayats, contractors and field workers participated in the workshop.
Followed by the technical session, the participants were taken to the Kurukkuthurai, one of the various points where the grey water flows into the Tamirabharani.
“Besides the underground sewage system being implemented in the city, the DEWATS and fencing of Palayan, Tirunelveli and Kodagan channels by 2024 will be a high impact intervention to save the Tamirabharani from pollution,” Mr. Vishnu noted.
Published - November 16, 2022 07:43 pm IST
