Twice a week, in the wee hours, a mini tanker with “septage collection vehicle" written on it would drive into the service road on the Edappally bypass stretch of NH 47 in Kochi, open a pipe attached to the tanker and drain its foul-smelling content into a stream. Everything would be over in less than a minute and the tanker would speed away.
Staff of PSN Motors, which runs a service centre nearby, are fed up.“Nobody can even pass through this region as the foul smell is unbearable. But we have no other option but to work inhaling it throughout the day,” said Saji, an employee of PSN Motors. The regular dumping has affected the flow of the stream “The flow has stopped because of frequent dumping of waste. It is stuck there,” he said.
Initially there were no CCTV cameras, but a year back the service centre installed cameras facing the side of the stream where the septic waste was being dumped. “We contacted the Kochi Corporation and handed over the visuals. Once they caught a vehicle but the dumping never stopped,” said Saji.
Though the service centre staff keep sending the visuals to the local body no action is being taken, alleged Saji. “We installed a better camera to capture the vehicle number. Now the vehicles operate after removing the number plate,” Saji said, adding that since the dumping finishes within 30 to 50 seconds and the days in which it happens cannot be predicted it's really difficult to catch them.
The residents and shopkeepers in the area allege that police are taking no action in the issue. The stream where the dumping happens is connected to other streams as well which passes through residential areas and is likely to pollute well water, they said.
N Suresh, who runs a shop nearby said that this stream covers almost all parts of Edapally. “Near the bypass there are many shops that have to deal with the illegal waste dumping. But nobody seems to be bothered about water sources being polluted because of it. Many restaurants, houses and offices depend on wells which are close to this stream as well as the other coonected streams,” he said.
The Southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had recently come out against the inaction by the government against faecal contamination in Edappally and Perandoor canals.
The problem is not just limited to Edapally. Many parts of Kochi city have been facing the issue. A 2016 survey revealed that 632 pipes directly deposit toilet waste to the 10.58-kilometre long Thevara-Perandoor canal. “The issue still continues, many households as well as the waste collection vehicles dump waste in various parts of the canal,” said a resident.
The study had also revealed that around 40% of Kochi’s groundwater had the presence of e-coli bacteria. A 2021 report said the coliform count in Perandoor canal is 3,50,000 cfu/100 ml which is almost 140 times higher than the maximum permissible limit. Even in Edapally canal the coliform count was found 80 times higher than permissible limits.
Kochi has 18 canals criss-crossing the city, touching almost all parts and people who live near them face similar issues. The city doesn't have enough infrastructure to treat septic waste though there have been demands to increase their number. Sources in the Kochi corporation said the major plants including the one managed by Kerala Water Authority at Elamkulam and the plant by Greater Cochin Development Authority near Marine Drive, can handle only less than 10% of the septage generated in the city.