In 2013, Pughal had first noticed a private tanker lorry parked along Tiruneermalai High Road discharging foul-smelling liquid into the Adyar River on his way home from college. Thinking that it was a one-off incident, he ignored it. But to his surprise, in the following years, such occurrences were only increasing.

Six months ago, when he caught one such lorry at the same spot he found out that the discharge was untreated chemical waste from industries located in the SIDCO layout at Thirumudivakkam. “When I questioned the lorry driver, he nonchalantly told me not to worry as it wasn’t sewage but industrial effluents. I was shocked that the river was polluted by such toxic matter. The frequency of this activity has only increased in the last five years,” said Pughalventhan Venkatesan, a resident of Kundrathur.

Locals allege that such lorries drain waste water into canals which connect Periya Eri in Tiruneermalai to Adyar River. “One week ago, I spotted a private tanker with a sign which said ‘Drainage Lorry’. When I enquired with the driver he said it was coming from nearby industries in SIDCO layout. The water also smelt like chemicals. They come either early in the morning around 6 am or in the night around 1 am,” said Yogesh S, a mechanic who has a shop on the same road where this discharge occurs....Read more

Source web page: New Indian Express