Many of the petrochemical plants here are more than five decades old. They produce pesticides, rare earth elements, rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc-chrome products and leather treatments.
A smell of rotting flesh dominates the air in Eloor, which was formerly an island of fertile agriculture on the Periyar River, 17 kilometres from the Arabian Sea and teaming with fish. The fish are mostly all gone. Those who live close to the river, according to the locals, hardly ever have children any more.
Some 300 chemical companies belch out poisonous fumes, almost warning people to stay away. Dark colours have appeared in the waterways. Among the few who are still alive is Shaji, a fisherman in his late 40s who only goes by one name.
“Most of the people here are trying to migrate from this place. If we look at the streets, it’s almost empty. There are no jobs and now we cannot even find work on the river,” said Shaji, Showing off the few pearl spot fish he was able to catch in one day in March.
Many of the petrochemical facilities in this area date back more than fifty years. They manufacture fertilisers, pesticides, rare earth elements, chemicals for rubber processing, leather treatments, zinc-chrome products, and pesticides.
Some are owned by the government, such as the 1943-founded Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore, Indian Rare Earths Ltd, and Hindustan Insecticides Limited.
The Periyar River provides a significant amount of freshwater to the companies, who then release concentrated wastewater with little to no treatment, according to the locals.
Anwar C. I., a local private contractor and member of a Periyar anti-pollution group, resides in the region. He claimed that locals have become accustomed to the foul smell that permeates the neighbourhood like a thick curtain and surrounds everyone and everything.
He claimed that the government's claim that the enterprises benefit people is false and that the groundwater is now completely poisoned.
“When they claim to provide employment to many people through industrialisation, the net impact is that the livelihood of thousands is lost,” Anwar said. People cannot make a living from ruined land and water.
Residents have occasionally organised rallies against the factories. When the village first saw thousands of fish die, protests started in 1970. Following then, both die-offs and protests occurred often once more, according to longtime resident and frequent demonstrator Shabeer Mooppan.
“Some of the early protest leaders are now bedridden” in advanced age, Mooppan said, emphasising just how long people in the community have been trying to get the river cleaned up.
Shabeer is currently working to increase surveillance in order to apprehend individuals guilty for polluting the river. In some other cities throughout the world, riverkeepers and baykeepers employ this technique. In addition, he is bringing legal actions against polluted industries.
The Periyar River's industrial contamination was downplayed by the state Pollution Control Board, which attributed it to waste from upstream residences, businesses, and marketplaces.
“We have not found any alarming rate of metals in the river water. All the levels are within the limits,” said Baburajan P K, chief environmental engineer of the board.
Of the more than 300 industrial facilities in the area, only five big businesses, according to Baburajan, are permitted to discharge wastewater into the river without first treating it. The remainder must clean their wastewater before either recycling it or dumping it on their own property. He claimed that those who violate the law face severe environmental fines.
Also, research describes a river that is in trouble.
Scientists at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences discovered that 25 species of fish were vanished from the area as early as 1998. Vegetables, fowl, eggs, fruits, and tuber crops from the area have all been contaminated, according to experts.
Professor of Chemical Oceanography at Cochin University of Science and Technology Chandramohan Kumar has investigated Periyar River pollution in a number of works.
“We have observed pollution from various organic fertilizers, metallic components. Toxic metals like cadmium, copper, zinc and all the heavy metals can be detected there,” Kumar said.
In order to safeguard the environment and the general public's health, the National Green Tribunal ordered the government to develop an action plan to improve the river's water quality ten years ago. The creation of a monitoring committee was also mandated.
Recently, the Tribunal became concerned enough to start its own investigation into the contamination. The environmental non-profit organisation Thanal conducted studies that date back to 2005 that revealed "hundreds of people living near Kuzhikandam Creek at Eloor were afflicted with various diseases such as cancer, congenital birth defects, bronchitis, asthma, allergic dermatitis, nervous disorders and behaviour changes."
A second assessment of 327 families in the area, which was used by the court, revealed the presence of harmful substances such as DDT, hexachlorochyclohexane, cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, toluene, manganese, and nickel.
Kumar said the remedy for this pollution is onsite treatment at each facility, and it comes down to money. “If they are ready to invest, the effluent discharge can be resolved," he said.
In order to safeguard the environment and the general public's health, the National Green Tribunal ordered the government to develop an action plan to improve the river's water quality ten years ago. The creation of a monitoring committee was also mandated.
The Pollution Control Board reacted by saying that it had just started a research that would help reduce air pollution and the unbearable odour in the area, which it claimed was mostly brought on by bone meal fertiliser manufacturers and meat rendering industries. In May, it is anticipated to be completed.
The board denied claims that it does not actively go after polluters and insisted that it makes sure no untreated waste liquids are released into rivers.
The Pollution Control Board's trainees travel everyday to gather samples at six different locations.
“But we don’t know what happens to those samples,” said resident Adam Kutty. “What’s the point of having all the money in the world and no water to drink?”
Several Eloor inhabitants claim they have stopped eating river fish for years because they claim it gives them severe diarrhoea and still tastes like chemicals after being cooked.
When the finger-pointing continues, the nearby grass and trees appear burnt, as if by the poisonous gases. The breeze appears to have pushed the birds away. Without state intervention, the gloom surrounding the area and its inhabitants is unlikely to dissipate very soon.