Activists warn pathetic condition of Uyyankondan river

TIRUCHY: With a thick blanket of vegetation covering the Uyyankondan river flowing through Tiruchy City, the water flow is prevented, and the environmental activists appealed to the civic administration to clear it at once and save the river.

The Uyyankondan river, which was created by Raja Raja Cholan for irrigation, flows along Tiruchy City and reaches Boothalur Charandi river via Valavanthankottai in Tiruverumbur, flowing around 46 km in length and irrigating around 32,000 acres of land.

“The river flows adjacent to the Tiruchy Collectorate, Tiruchy GH and Combined Court Complex. The once beautiful Uyyankondan has turned out to be the ‘Cooum of Tiruchy’ as the sewage of the households along the banks of the river let into the waterbody, which pollutes the river,” said KC Neelamegam, Executive President, Thaneer Organisation and Treasurer of Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam.

Neelamegam further said that apart from the mixing of sewage from the houses and industries, the entire river in the city has been thickly covered by vegetation.

“The present condition is so pathetic, and the vegetation grown in the river prevents free flow of water that was once the main source of water for irrigation,” he said.

He felt that the district administration, along with the civic body, should immediately plug the sewage mixing into the river and remove the weeds grown all along the water body.

“Otherwise, the once beautiful Uyyankondan river will be a thing of the past”, said Neelamegam and added that the organisation has submitted a representation to the district administration.