Chennai, Feb 27 (IANS): The farmers of Coimbatore are protesting against the unabated discharge of untreated sewage into the Noyyal river.

Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, a farmers' association affiliated to the Communist Party of India, is spearheading the protest and has petitioned the district administration against the regular discharge of sewage into the river.

Vice-president of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, R. Periyasamy while speaking to IANS said, "We are protesting against the destruction of Noyyal river as pollution of river is affecting the groundwater near the water bodies and this is having an impact on the farmers and agriculture."

He also said that foul smell was emanating from the water drawn from ground water and this is also related to the pollution in Noyyal river.

Farmers said that there is a presence of weed plants growing on the banks of the river and this was due to effluent discharge into the river.

However, Coimbatore district administration officials, while speaking to IANS, said that they have received the petition and will check into the complaints raised by the farmers.

The association leaders told IANS that they would resort to further action if there is no proper support from the administration.

It may be noted that Water Quality Index (WQI) was collected from 27 locations along the Noyyal river from its source of origin to sink and found that except for two samples, all other samples were categorised as poor, very poor, and unfit for consumption.