Centre, state to conduct study on pollution levels in River Cauvery

To check if the Cauvery River is carrying all of Bengaluru's polluted water to Tamil Nadu, officials from the Central Pollution Control Board and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board are assessing the pollution levels.

The Cauvery Tribunal had received a complaint from Tamil Nadu that Bengaluru's polluted water is flowing into Tamil Nadu. To check the pollution levels, the tribunal directed CPCB, KSPCB and Tamil Nadu pollution control board to undertake a study and submit the final report in January, 2018.

The study is not just limited to patches, but from the origin till the end point. The Cauvery river from Talacauvery and its tributaries is being studied, said S Suresh, Scientist-E and incharge, CPCB, Southern Region. "The tribunal ordered the study in September. We are collecting samples on a monthly basis. The study reports will then be submitted to the CPCB in Delhi, who in turn will submit it to the tribunal," he said.

A senior KSPCB official who is studying the water quality hinted that the heavy rainfall which Bengaluru and most parts of interior Karnataka received in August and September would have an impact on the pollution levels.

In parallel, KSPCB has also joined hands with Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (Empri) and Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) to study the landscape of Cauvery basin. The studies are titled "Inventorisation of Water Bodies in Bengaluru Metropolitan Area" and "Assessment of Current Status of Cauvery River in Karnataka".

Ritu Kakkar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF), Empri said: "We have already conducted an independent study of Cauvery river from Talacauvery to Tamil Nadu. This study was done on the request of Cistup, IISc. Now, we will conduct another study with KSPCB which will cover the tributaries also." She added that the findings of these studies will also help the tribunal in ascertaining the pollution levels.

G V Ranga Rao, member secretary, KSPCB said Empri was helping the Board map Cauvery river and its tributaries apart from knowing the pollution sources and changes in flow patters over the years. Data of 2003-04 will be compared with that of 2014-15.