Panthalkudi sewage plant being restored at Rs1 crore ahead of Chithirai festival

Madurai: The Panthalkudi sewage treatment plant (STP) — dismantled for the ongoing Goripalayam flyover construction — is being restored by Madurai corporation at a cost of 1 crore to prevent untreated sewage from entering the Vaigai river during the Chithirai festivities.

The plant, originally built at a cost of 3 crore to handle two million litres per day (MLD) of sewage, was constructed on the northern bank of the Vaigai near the route where Lord Kallazhagar traditionally enters the river. However, the 1.3km main arm of the Goripalayam flyover, which connects the Tamukkam ground entrance to the Anna statue junction, intersects the STP's site. With the flyover project now at the deck slab stage, corporation officials identified an alternate location near a public toilet close by. The state highways (SH) department, which is executing the flyover, will bear the cost of relocating the STP. "The issue will be fully resolved within 15 days — before Lord Alagar's Vaigai entry,"a senior corporation official said.

However, civic activists called the situation a planning failure. "How could the corporation miss the flyover alignment when constructing an STP just three years ago? Now we're spending another 1 crore — it's public money wasted," said M Rajan, chief of Vaigai Nathi Makkal Iyakkam.

However, he added that the restoration is crucial to ensure proper sewage treatment during the festival, which draws lakhs of devotees, and to protect the river from contamination.