People panic as worms swarm the Periyar

ALUVA: The presence of an enormous number of worms in the Periyar near the Sivarathri Manalpuram has spread panic among the people since Wednesday evening. The earthworm-like reddish worm is 10 centimetres long.

Lakhs of worms are seen at the bathing ghat near the Siva temple here. They are also seen in their thousands on the steps constructed by the municipality on the banks of the river, during the tide.

Owing to the worm menace, those who arrived at the Manalpuram to perform last rites for their departed had to choose other spots to take a dip in the river as a part of the ritual.

The unprecedented presence of the worms poses threat to the water treatment plant, which is situated nearby.

The plant is distributing drinking water to a majority of the people in Kochi city.

About 250 million litres of treated water is being pumped to the Greater Cochin area and suburban panchayats daily from the Aluva pumping station.

Any pollution in the Periyar will directly affect the people’s health as water from the Periyar is being consumed by lakhs of people in Kochi and its suburbs. Various government agencies have swung into action to contain the menace. The health wing of the Aluva Municipality inspected the area and the river on Thursday.

The municipal workers removed the worms from the steps and the river and applied pesticides in a bid to destroy them, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Later, the health workers buried the worms in pits dug on the Manalpuram.

The Kerala Water Authority personnel, led by executive engineer of the quality control wing Jolly Thomas and water works assistant executive engineer Siddique, inspected the area.

During the inspection, the team could not find any worm on the opposite side of the river, and also upstream and downstream of the Manalpuram. The KWA has arranged personnel to keep vigil at the intake point and stilling chamber where the water from the Periyar is collected prior to purification in the treatment plant.

The Pollution Control Board (PCB) personnel took samples of the water for testing.

Chief environment scientist K Sundaram told Express that the Board could not identify the species of the worm, but said such worms were seen in the water where nutrient content and organic substances were high. The PCB will be able to suggest remedial measures only after the test results are available.

The samples will be tested at the PCB Central Laboratory in Kochi and the results are expected on Friday.

Environment engineer S Sreekala, environment scientist V K Rajivan, assistant environmental scientists Shanavaz, Aby Varghese and Ushakumari were part of the inspection team. Hundreds of people visited the Periyar near the Manalpuram bathing ghat to watch the phenomenon.