KOTTAYAM
Kottayam in central Kerala is neither an industrial town nor yet an agricultural wonder. Apart from the occasional huge mansions that break the monotony of rubber plantations and palm groves, Kottayarn looks like a town that woke up a bit too late to cash in on the industrial and even agricultural boom happening elsewhere. Kottayam prides itself on its rubber plantations which makes the town one of the largest producers of rubber and the trade in spices cultivated in the high ranges. It is also home to Kerala's first printing press and, as of today, it churns out 85 per cent of all Malayalam books and many widely circulated newspapers like Malayala Manorama and Deepika apart from umpteen magazines, two of which sell over a million copies each every week.
Unlike the boom towns, Kottayam does not really face any crisis of urbanisation. With little industrial growth, like the rest of the state, and thus no problem of migrant populations, Kottayam actually faces no problems that it cannot cope with. But for a rather sleepy town like Kottayam surviving on remittance and rubbar economy, it has an unlikely share of environmental problems. Much of it is related to the pollution of the three major rivers that pass through the region Meenachil, Manimala and Pampa. The stunningly beautiful Vembanad lake, which is fed by six rivers and houses plush resorts for premium tourists, faces the danger from increasing pollutants. A recent report by the Science, Technology and Environment Committee states that dangerous levels of effluents are settling down In the waters of the Vembanad. Most of it comes from industries based in the neighbouring district of Ernakulam where Kerala's only industrial belt is Icicated. Travancore Cochin Chemicals discharges mercury at the rate of two tonnes per year, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore discharges 1.1 tonnes per year of hexavalent chromium and Cominco-Binani Ltd. 7.5 tonnes of zinc per year. The study also found 400 nanograms/litre of DOT in the Pampa river and 122 ng/I enclosulphan in the Vembanad lake - both highly toxic pesticides. Increasing inputs of chemical and other wastes is also affecting the self-purification power of the estuary. Rubber plantations and factories are the other source of pollutions bemuse of the huge amounts of pesticides used. These pesticides are washed down through the many streams and rivulets and end up in the Meenachil. The Kottayam Paristhithi Samiti, a NGO, launched the "Save Meenachil' campaign in 1997 to draw attention to the deteriorating condition of the river. Public movements like this have created a feeling that Kottayam is afterall not just heart-tugging greenery.
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