Periyar river in Kerala under threat from pollution

Photo (c) Care2

The State Government of Kerala in India is being petitioned by international activists because a major regional waterway, the Periyar river, is under threat from pollution. Towards the mouth of the river, researchers have found high levels of DDT, lead, cyanide and mercury produced by local industry, agriculture and domestic waste. This poses a health risk to humans as well as destabilising the aquatic environment. Environmental campaigners claim that the Kerala Pollution Control Board has failed to take proper samples when serious pollution has been reported. They say,

"Water pollution does more than make the river smell bad. It wrecks ecosystems and livelihoods and is not something to be ignored."

To learn more about the Periyar river, there's a beautiful site called Periyar River Keeper, created by an environmental pressure group; and for images and a thoughtful summing-up of the situation by photographer Marco Bulgarelli please click here. To sign the petition demanding that the state government acts on curbing water pollution, please click here.

Bidisha is a 2013 Fellow for the International Reporting Project. She is reporting on issues of global health and development.