Once life-giver, Noyyal is now farmers' curse

A tributary of the Cauvery, the river has become so toxic it is turning arable land barren and poisoning groundwater

- MSARAVANAN

IT was sheer desperation that pushed a group of farmers from Tirupur and Erode approach the Madras High Court in 2013, seeking to curtail the flow of Noyyal water through their villages. Reason? The river, a tributary of Cauvery and once a great nurturer of life, had turned into an effluent carrier that reportedly turns even the groundwater toxic.

Originating from the sacred heights of the Vellingiri Hills in Coimbatore, Noyyal meanders through western Tamil Nadu, offering its water to the masses of Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, and Karur before its confluence with Cauvery.

Old-timers in these districts said the river is a seasonal one, with peak flow during the monsoon. Over the past many years, however, Noyyal seems to have turned into a ‘perennial’ river, only that its flow mostly contains untreated effluent and sewage from dyeing units and local bodies in Coimbatore and Tirupur, sources said.