Bengaluru: Minister for Tourism and Environment C.P. Yogeeshwar (CPY) has made a startling revelation that most of the rivers in Karnataka were polluted as waste water is relentlessly let out and if the same situation continues, the State may face many epidemics.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru yesterday, the Minister said that even the tender coconut grown in Cauvery and Krishna River belts have lost its taste due to rampant pollution. Water available from all the 17 river basins in Karnataka are filled with industrial effluents and are unfit for drinking purposes, he said. 

To tackle the situation, Town Panchayats, Gram Panchayats, Corporations and other Local Bodies will act on the pollutant source. Notices will be issued to industries and companies that discharge effluents into the rivers. Pollution control measures will be intensified and action will be taken against polluters, he added. 

According to data, every day 3,777 million litres of sewage effluents are diverted into the State rivers. Of this, only 1,304 million litres are treated. The remaining 2,473 million litres are left to pollute the waters daily. Annually, 9,03,645 million litres of sewage water and industrial effluent are joining the lifelines across the State. Only 4.75 lakh million litres are treated, he revealed.

“The main cause for pollution of rivers is flow of untreated sewage into them. The ultimate sinks for every city or town’s waste are rivers and lakes. If treated sewage enters the river then it is not a problem,” he said. 

Groundwater has been contaminated due to the high level of pollutants, making it unfit for irrigation and drinking. Several textile, cement and chemical industries located along the rivers have been discharging large amounts of toxic effluents, he noted. 

Only 16 percent of the Local Bodies have Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in the State. Out of 219 Local Bodies, only 36 have provided STPs. “We will take steps to establish STPs along the course of rivers to stop rampant pollution. For River Cauvery, a plan of Rs. 206 crore was sanctioned to set up or refurbish STPs at towns such as Srirangapatna, Kollegal, Bannur, and T. Narasipur,” said the Minister.

He added that pollution levels were being checked at 22 locations every month.