Mophin Kani Kani

Water quality of the river Tamirabarani during the period of 2008-09’ was assessed with special reference to physicochemical and biological aspects for the enumeration of the current pollution scenario of the river. The results showed that the quality of water was worsening at downstream areas after the sampling point T3 and the quality of the water was mainly deteriorated through high coliform content and higher organic inputs through various in-stream and bank activities like religious, rituals, agricultural, open defecation, direct mixing of sewage and domestic wastes, dumping of garbage wastes and other activities. Significant temporal variations also were record during the study. Tributaries contribute significant pollutant load to the main flow along its course. At main river flow 91.67% of the sampling stations showed class “B” quality and the remaining 8.33% of the sites showed class “C” quality of water. Tributaries were classified into class “A” 16.67%, class “B” 8.33%, cl...

Occupational safety and health has become a very vital issue because of the shifting of technological advancements and deployment of newer concepts. Assessment and management of the issues is a major hurdle in front of the management and workers. Cashew processing is a highly labour intensive industry and has a long history of employing a large number of workers. The state of Kerala accounts for the highest proportion of cashew workers in India which employs nearly three lakh workers. In most cashew plantations and processing units, workers face several health problems like irritation to fingertips, skin burns, dramatis, respiratory diseases, cancer and reproductive disorders due to risks from their nature of work. The present study aimed to assess and compare the status of occupational safety and health at cashew nut factories at Kollam district and to suggest safety measures for each unit workers and to the management authorities. Assessment was carried out through direct survey m...

materials. Present study aimed to investigate the efficiency of orange peel and neem leaf powder on the treatment of dairy wastewater. Sample was collected from Attingal sub district and the wastewater characterization was made with standard methodologies. Orange peel and neem leaf powder were added in different doses (1g, 2g, 4g, 6g, 8g & 10g) as coagulants to assess the effectiveness and dosing level. Previous results using various natural products as coagulants showed measurable increase in the quality of wastewater with pilot and field studies. Present study also aimed to get maximum efficiency out of the selected two natural products and prove natural material have the potential of adsorption and removal of higher concentration of chemical constituents from the dairy industrial wastewater.

Textiles are among the basic needs of human being. The textile industries therefore have great economic significance by virtue of its contribution to overall industrial output and employment generation. This sector has wide spectrum of industries ranging from small scale units that use traditional manufacturing process, to large integrated mills using modern machineries and equipment. In processing of textiles, the industry uses a number of dyes, chemicals, auxiliary chemicals and sizing materials. As a result, contaminated waste water is generated which can cause environmental problems unless properly treated before its disposal. The suitability of banana stem juice as a natural coagulant for textile industrial wastewater treatment was investigated. Three main parameters were studied, namely, total suspended solids (TSS), pH, and turbidity of effluent. Coagulation experiments using jar test were performed with a flocculation system where the effects of textile industrial wastewater...

Sasthamcotta Lake is the largest natural fresh water lake in Kerala, known as â��Queen of Lakesâ��. This lake is located in Kollam district between 9Âo 0â�²-9Âo 5â�² N latitude and 76Âo 35â�²-76Âo 46â�² E longitude at an elevation of 33m above MSL. This lake has an area of 373 ha and volume of 22.4 km 3 . It is one of the 26 sites in India included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance. The Sasthamcotta Lake is a drinking water source for about 700000 people lived in Kollam District and is also one of the major tourist attraction places. Inland navigation and fishing are the major economical based activities takes place in this lake. This lake is facing degradation due to anthropogenic activities such as directing human waste, soil erosion due to destruction of vegetation, construction activities etc leading to the deterioration of environmental quality as well as decrease in the surface area and depth. The present study was carried out to assess the physico che...

Water samples were collected from the perennial river Tamirabarani over a distance of 125 km to assess the health status of the flow before it convergence with Bay of Bengal. Twelve sampling points were selected and the water samples were examined with physicochemical along with coliform content. Significant spatial and temporal variations were recorded; which classified the river quality in to 5 classes correspondingly “A” to “E”. Overall the quality of the river at downstream areas was poor compared with upstream locations with respect to its direct use value. Highest DO, BOD and COD levels were recorded as 10.47 mg/l, 10.02 mg/l and 17 mg/l respectively. Total and fecal coliform content were high are suburban and urban reaches as 2800 and 340 MPN/ml and 3500 and 2800 MPN/ml respectively during the study period and at different localities.

The paper describes the role of aquatic macrophytes in dairy wastewater treatment. Aquatic plants azolla and water hyacinth are selected for the present study because of its availability and it has a huge potential for the removal various pollutants from wastewater and especially it has the ability to grow even in severely polluted water. A laboratory scale experiment was conducted by taking waste water from MILCO dairy plant and which was treated with both the plants. Experiment proved that significant reduction in pH, Biological Oxygen Demand, Total Solids etc., while treating with selected aquatic macrophytes.The result showed excellent removal efficiency with BOD, Magnesium Hardness, Total Hardness and Electrical Conductivity as 93.33%, 99.29%, 97.39%, 84.52% respectively treating with azolla. High removal efficiencies by both the plants may be due to absorption of the contaminants with the help of its root system. Comparatively azolla based treatment showed most efficient in re...

The river Tamirabarani is one of the perennial rivers in India which feed two major districts (Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi) of Tamil Nadu, India. Due to high anthropogenic activities, urbanisation practices, irrigational and livestock activities along the river bank habitations increases pollution threat. The present study was carried out to assess the quality of water and to classify the river stretches using multiplicative aggregation function. The results showed water quality deterioration during the month of April whereas remaining periods showed the quality upto fair level. Excellent quality of water was recorded at 21.53 %, very good quality at 28.47 %, good quality at 33.33 %, fair quality at 13.89 % and marginal quality at 2.78 % of sampling sites during the study tenure. Correlation study between physicochemical properties also reveals significant negative relationship with the Water Quality Index (WQI) scores. The index function makes easy interpretation of results which i...

A water quality index provides a single number that gives overall water quality at a definite location and time grounded on some water quality parameters. It turns complex water quality data into data that is understandable by the common people.National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) is a common method adopted to calculate WQI. The present investigation was planned to assess the quality ofAshtamudi Lake (Latitude 8º59'N, Longitude76 º 36'E), Kollam district, Kerala, India. It supports around 43 mangrove species, 57 birdspecies, 97 species of fishes. Coconut husk retting, fishing, inland navigation and a fishing harbour at Neendakara are other economic benefits provided by this lake. It is getting polluted day by day due to offshore activities like wastes from hotels,agricultural activities,farms, and wastes from municipal waste disposal site. The case study describesextend of water pollutionAshtamudi lake and also suggest the measures to mitigate pollution. The detailed physicochemical examinations are assessed forfour months (December 2016 to March2017) and NSFWQI value of Ashtamudi Lake is finally calculated as 27.5 describes as bad qualityof water.

The study emphases to identify the environmental impactsof Toned Milk processing unitthrough life cycle assessment in a renowned dairy,processing 75 %raw milk ofThiruvananthapuram.The life cycle assessmentwas carried out as per ISO 14040 using Simapro software supported by eco-invent database.The data required for inventory analysis were collected fromonsite data provided by the dairy and appropriate unit processes from eco-invent databases were allotted to the materials, energy and water resources flow related with the processing unit life cycle.ReCiPe impact assessment method is used for environmental impact assessment step. Iterative interpretations were done to obtain the goal and scope of this study.Classification and characterization results obtained indicates that the cleaning agent sodium hydroxide contribute more impact to the environment in this processing unit.Use of membrane technologies will reduce the environmental impact through the recovery and reuse of sodium hydroxide (80-83%) in clean in phase systems. Life cycle assessmenthelped to identify the environmental burdens in this dairyand facilitate to find suitable remedies to those environmental issues.

Assessing the effectiveness of rice husk ash for the removal of excessive occurrence of organic and inorganic constituents from municipal leachate was studied on the basis of batch process withsome parameter optimization via dosage, contact time, mixing rate and pH. The result depicted that 74% removal efficiency of COD with an optimum dosage of 0.8 gm/l, optimum contact time of 30min, optimum speed of 150RPM and optimum of pH of 6 whereas, turbidity removal efficiency was about 77% at dose of 0.8gm/l, contact time of 30min and speed of 150 RPM. The result obtained for the bio adsorbent was compared with powdered activated carbon (PAC). Langmuir and Freunlich isotherms models were conducted and both isotherms indicated good correlation with the data obtained from the experimental study. Langmuir isotherm was best fitted with the highest regression coefficient value ofR 2 = 0.954 at 303.15K. Morphological study indicatesgood pore structures and the presence of various functional groups in rice husk ash imparts high adsorption efficiency. Hence it is possible to develop a cost effective treatment for the leachate without using any chemicals that further effects the environmental systems.

This study presents the usage of Laterite soil grains for treating dairy wastewater. The treatment is carried out in a glass column packed with soil grains. The wastewater treatment is carried out with two different packing media i.e.; Laterite Grain (LG), Alkali Activated Laterite Grain (ALALG).The performances with varying flow rate and retention time are examined and will find out which one is best. The properties of the wastewater is tested for both physical and chemical properties like pH, turbidity, TDS,TSS,Elecrical Conductivity, BOD,COD etc are estimated by suitable laboratory procedures. The effective optimum flow rate is 8.3 ml/min and retention time is 45 min for LG and 30 min for ALALG. Comparing LG and ALALG, ALALG is better for packed bed reaction with more than 85% of removal efficiency. Experimental data was fitted in two models namely Yoon Nelson and Adam Bohart. Yoon Nelson model was most satisfactory for packed bed reaction using Laterite grains. And the values of the model parameters were evaluated and analyzed.

Wastewater treatment methods are energy intensive. Although, activated sludge process is effective in removing organic matter but it consume large amount of energy, particularly in the aeration process. However, wastewater itself is a source of energy, if we capture this energy from wastewater, wastewater treatment might become an energy producer rather than a consumer. Compared to activated sludge process, oxygenic photogranules have potential to treat wastewater without external aeration. In addition it produces algal biomass, which is favorable to use for bio-fuel production. Hence wastewater treatment system with oxygenic photogranules reduces energy consumption and produce energy feed stock. This study was mainly focused on the synthesis of oxygenic photogranules from activated sludge in the presence of sunlight under unagitated condition for 42 days and then conducted the treatment of real municipal wastewater with these oxygenic photogranules. OPGs can remove COD and nitrogenous compounds without external aeration. In the present study, COD and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate removal efficiencies obtained was 98.5%, 97.09% and 99.18% respectively. The OPG process eliminate the need of external mechanical aeration, which is the most energy intensive part of wastewater treatment processes, and allow the recovery of chemical energy from wastewater in the form of bioenergy feedstock. OPGs are easily harvestable biomass, overcoming the main challenges of algal based wastewater treatment technologies. In this study, efficiency of OPG in treating real municipal wastewater without external aeration was discovered.

— The dairy industry is generally considered to be one of the largest food processing wastewater in many countries, especially in India. In dairy industry, in most cases, the wastewater generated is directly discharged into the nearby water bodies. Since the dairy waste water contains large concentration of COD, BOD, and oil, fats, chloride, and other elements along with several bacteria these may cause substantial health risk, and serious environmental issues.. In this paper EC and EDI techniques are used for the treatment of dairy waste water. The result shows that Copper electrodes has achieved a maximum turbidity reduction of 99.5%, COD reduction of 97.5% and BOD reduction of 90.94% in 30volt high stirring speed when the electrolysis time is set at 30 mins in electrocoagulation process. And copper electrodes yielded 97.5%, 84.84% and 99.5% removal efficiency in COD, BOD and turbidity respectively, under 30volt and 30 min electrolysis time in electrodeionization process. Both EC and EDI have achieved COD and turbidity removal up to 95-99% at high voltage and electrolysis time.

Effective household water purification is needed to prevent the waterborne diseases. The main goal of this study is to produce a low cost filtration system using locally available materials and to find the suitability of thosematerials.For this study, Ceramic filters were prepared from locally available materials such as clay, sawdust, sand, laterite, ilmenite and garnet. A laboratory scale unit was made for the present study; water passed through the filter is then collected and analyzed. SEM and EDXwereperformed for material analysis. The results showed that the ceramic filters prepared are effective in removing microbes resulting in waterborne diseases by 100% and turbidity to about 80-90%. It takes the advantage of local materials and existing local knowledge. Of the five types, the best for practical use could not be determined using the physicochemical and bacteriological water quality results. Therefore, rate of filtration was also used as an additional choice for the selection of the best ceramic filter. The filtration rate was higher for the filter B whencomparedwith other filters. The results were well within the permissible limits of BIS. The SEM and EDX images clearly revealed the presence of microscopic pores in the filter and the material composition respectively.

The dairy industry is generally considered to be one of the largest generators of food processing wastewater in many countries, especially in India. Many studies have been carried out for the treatment of dairy wastewater using different technologies such as physiochemical treatment, biological treatments etc. Electrocoagulation (EC) and Electrodeionization (EDI) methods are innovative, economic and advanced techniques for the treatment of wastewater. In this work EC and EDI techniques are used to analyze the efficiency for the treatment of dairy wastewater. The result showed that Iron electrode has achieved a maximum removal efficiency of 99%, 98.34% and 76.3% respectively for Turbidity, COD and BOD at 30volt with high stirring speed and the electrolysis time of 30 mins in EC process. With increase in voltage and electrolysis time, COD, BOD and turbidity of treated effluent increased further. Maximum COD removal of 98.43% and turbidity removal of 99% is observed at high stirring speed. Contradictory to the results it is observed that max removal of BOD 93.3% is observed at low stirring speed. The iron electrodes yielded 98.1%, 96.6% and 98.7% removal efficiency in COD, BOD and turbidity respectively, at 30volt and 30 min electrolysis time in EDI process. EDI with iron electrodes has achieved a maximum turbidity reduction of 98.77%, COD reduction of 98.15% and BOD reduction of 96.66% when the electrolysis time of 30 mins.

Groundwater is an essential and vital component for any life supporting system. It is not only the basic need for human existence but also a vital input for all developmental activities. Groundwater chemistry is of great interest in coastal regions due to the varying degree of mixing of groundwater with seawater. Present study focuses mainly on the seawater intrusion vulnerability, confined to the coastal belt of Kollam district, which lies in the coastal belt area of Kerala. The physicochemical parameters of about 20 well samples, within 5 km radius were analysed. Based on the results, all the sites within the radius are at the midst of intrusion. Assessment of chemical indicators namely Ca enrichment ratio (within the limits 1.39-28.61), Cl-/ (HCO 3 +CO 3) ratio (about 3 sites have values less than 5, for other sites value range between 0.519-1.499), BEX indices (salinization ranges from-1.191 to-0.49, freshening ranges from 0.28 to 1.35), Na + / Cl-ratio (within limits 0.09-0.79) helped to identify the wells which are indicating with seawater intrusion. SAR ratio (within limits 3.094-7.208) within the region also confirms that the area had a chance of totally getting intruded in the near future. Alkaline earth metals with increased portion of alkali with prevailing Cl-ions were the dominant water type in the study area. Plotting using piper diagram also indicates that the study area presently at the level of mixing zone.

A bacterium isolated from effluent of thermal paper industry and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAb1) based on 16SrRNA gene sequence analysis which could grow on basal mineral salt medium upon bisphenol A, which functions as an exclusive carbon source. Physicochemical variables of thermal paper industry effluent noted were significantly greater than the typical limit due to pollution of the acquiring water systems. The mathematic kinetic models like Monod, Moser and Tesier models were applied for batch fermentation of bisphenol A degradation in basal salt medium and the half saturation coefficient (K S) and the regression coefficient R 2 using Monad, Moser and Tesier kinetic models registered as 9.947 g/L, 12.46 g/L and 14.14 g/L and 0.91, 0.94 and 0.84 respectively. Besides, the utmost specific growth rate mmax was witnessed as 0.841 h À1 for the P. aeruginosa (PAb1) regarding BPA degradation. Metabolic intermediates like phenol, acetophenone, and hydroquinone and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were also determined through the degradation process by GC-MS. The metabolic pathway of BPA degradation by the bacterial isolates was also designed in today's analysis. A probabilistic statistical model originated using Box-Behnken response surface methodology and process variables were optimized by nonlinear optimization.

— Water pollution in India is a major problem. The root cause of a number of diseases is water pollution. Effective household water purification is needed to prevent the waterborne diseases. Need of water makes it important and without giving right to access it, the concept of welfare state cannot be fulfilled. So the water sources require specialized treatment methods and filters to make them safe for drinking .The main goal of this study is to produce a low cost filtration system using locally available materials and to find the suitability of those materials. For this study, Ceramic filters were prepared from locally available materials such as clay, sawdust, sand, laterite, ilmenite and garnet. The results showed that the ceramic filters prepared are effective in removing microbes resulting in waterborne diseases by 100% and turbidity to about 80-90%. The results were well within the permissible limits of BIS. The SEM images clearly revealed the presence of microscopic pores in the filter. Statsistical Analysis using SPSS software gave a good correlation study among the various parameters. Commonly used ceramic filters for the study were prepared from clay and sawdust. In order to improve the performance of ceramic filter,locally available materials that have good antibacterial properties were also chosen for this study.

— This study presents the treatment of dairy waste water using laterite grains. The treatment is carried out in a fabricated column packed with soil grains. The waste water treatment is carried out with different packing media i.e. Laterite Grain (LG), Acid activated Laterite Grain (AALG). The performances with varying flow rate and retention time are examined. The properties of the wastewater is tested for both physical and chemical properties like turbidity, TDS,TSS, BOD and COD are estimated by suitable laboratory procedures. The effective optimum flow rate is 8.3 ml/min and retention time is 45 min for LG and 30 min for AALG. Comparing LG and AALG, AALG is better for packed bed reaction with more than 85% of removal efficiency. Experimental data was fitted in two models namely Yoon Nelson and Adam Bohart. Yoon Nelson model was most satisfactory for packed bed reaction using Laterite grains. And the values of the model parameters were evaluated and analyzed. Keywords— LG, AALG, Yoon Nelson model and Adam Bohart model

— the present study was carried out to assess the quality of water and to classify water quality indices at Ashtamudi Lake (Latitude 8º59'N, Longitude76 º 36'E), Kollam district, Kerala, India; is the second largest wetland in Kerala. Due to high anthropogenic activities, urbanization practices, coconut shell retting and fishing activities along the bank habitations increases pollution threat. A Water Quality Index (WQI) is a numeric expression used to evaluate the quality of a given water body and to be easily understood by decision makers. The present study intends to discusses and compares three different water quality indices, viz. arithmetic water quality index, multiplicative water quality index and Oregon water quality index which are considered for characterizing the water quality along Ashtamudi Lake through the assessment of Dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),COD, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, total alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, nitrate and are used as the parameters for the development of water quality indices. Most of the parameters are not with in the permissible limit except nitrate. Further with the help of software SPSS, the results were correlated. The comparison of different indices gives which water quality index is the best suitable for quality determination. The index function makes easy interpretation of results which in-turn increases the effectiveness of management strategies. The comparison of different indices showed that the arithmetic water quality index is best positively correlated with weighted arithmetic water quality index.

and an optimum speed of 150rpm. The result obtained for cow dung ash was then compared with one of the chemical adsorbent and the chemical adsorbent used was powdered activated carbon (PAC). Adsorption isotherm model study was conducted using both Langmuir and Freunlich isotherms. Both isotherms indicated good correlation with the data obtained from the experimental study. Langmuir isotherm was best fitted model because it possess highest value for the regression coefficient, R2 =0.943 at 303.15K. Surface morphological studies were done using FTIR and SEM which indicated good results such as good pore structures which cause high adsorption. Hence it is possible to use cow dung as a suitable biosorbent in treating municipal leachate and thereby reducing the use of chemicals which further effects the environment.

— The paper describes the role of aquatic macrophytes in dairy wastewater treatment. Aquatic plants azolla and water hyacinth are selected for the present study because of its availability and it has a huge potential for the removal various pollutants from wastewater and especially it has the ability to grow even in severely polluted water. A laboratory scale experiment was conducted by taking waste water from MILCO dairy plant and which was treated with both the plants. Experiment proved that significant reduction in pH, Biological Oxygen Demand, Total Solids etc., while treating with selected aquatic macrophytes.The result showed excellent removal efficiency with BOD, Magnesium Hardness, Total Hardness and Electrical Conductivity as 93.33%, 99.29%, 97.39%, 84.52% respectively treating with azolla. High removal efficiencies by both the plants may be due to absorption of the contaminants with the help of its root system. Comparatively azolla based treatment showed most efficient in removing the pollutants from dairy wastewater than water hyacinth based treatment system.

—Occupational safety and health has become a very vital issue because of the shifting of technological advancements and deployment of newer concepts. Assessment and management of the issues is a major hurdle in front of the management and workers. Cashew processing is a highly labour intensive industry and has a long history of employing a large number of workers. The state of Kerala accounts for the highest proportion of cashew workers in India which employs nearly three lakh workers. In most cashew plantations and processing units, workers face several health problems like irritation to fingertips, skin burns, dramatis, respiratory diseases, cancer and reproductive disorders due to risks from their nature of work. The present study aimed to assess and compare the status of occupational safety and health at cashew nut factories at Kollam district and to suggest safety measures for each unit workers and to the management authorities. Assessment was carried out through direct survey method. The result obtained indicates with back pain, head ache, asthma, cramp knees, joint pain affecting the life of labours especially from traditional industry. Working conditions of workers are poor at traditional industry when compared with modern industry. From the study in traditional industry about 80% of workers are suffering from back pain, 73% having pain in neck, 69% having joint pain, 44% suffering from cramp in knees, 5% have asthma and skin irritations; 50 % greater impacts were recorded with the age group of more than 40.

Water samples were collected from the perennial river Tamirabarani over a distance of 125 km to assess the health status of the flow before it convergence with Bay of Bengal. Twelve sampling points were selected and the water samples were examined with physicochemical along with coliform content. Significant spatial and temporal variations were recorded; which classified the river quality in to 5 classes correspondingly " A " to " E ". Overall the quality of the river at downstream areas was poor compared with upstream locations with respect to its direct use value. Highest DO, BOD and COD levels were recorded as 10.47 mg/l, 10.02 mg/l and 17 mg/l respectively. Total and fecal coliform content were high are suburban and urban reaches as 2800 and 340 MPN/ml and 3500 and 2800 MPN/ml respectively during the study period and at different localities.

Water quality of the river Tamirabarani during the period of 2008-09' was assessed with special reference to physicochemical and biological aspects for the enumeration of the current pollution scenario of the river. The results showed that the quality of water was worsening at downstream areas after the sampling point T3 and the quality of the water was mainly deteriorated through high coliform content and higher organic inputs through various in-stream and bank activities like religious, rituals, agricultural, open defecation, direct mixing of sewage and domestic wastes, dumping of garbage wastes and other activities. Significant temporal variations also were record during the study. Tributaries contribute significant pollutant load to the main flow along its course. At main river flow 91.67% of the sampling stations showed class " B " quality and the remaining 8.33% of the sites showed class " C " quality of water. Tributaries were classified into class " A " 16.67%, class " B " 8.33%, class " C " 16.67%, class " D " 25% and class " E " 33.33% respectively.

The river Tamirabarani is one of the perennial rivers in India which feed two major districts (Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi) of Tamil Nadu, India. Due to high anthropogenic activities, urbanisation practices, irrigational and livestock activities along the river bank habitations increases pollution threat. The present study was carried out to assess the quality of water and to classify the river stretches using multiplicative aggregation function. The results showed water quality deterioration during the month of April whereas remaining periods showed the quality upto fair level. Excellent quality of water was recorded at 21.53 %, very good quality at 28.47 %, good quality at 33.33 %, fair quality at 13.89 % and marginal quality at 2.78 % of sampling sites during the study tenure. Correlation study between physicochemical properties also reveals significant negative relationship with the Water Quality Index (WQI) scores. The index function makes easy interpretation of results which in-turn increases the effectiveness of management strategies to bringing back the originality of the river.

River monitoring study was conducted to assess the current water quality status employing macrobenthic organisms as pollution indicators at 12 sampling stations of the perennial river Tamirabarani during March to December 2008. The river is the main source for potable water supply, irrigation, domestic uses, industrial processes etc., to the two districts namely Tirunelveli and Thotthukudi with the population of more than 42,96,261 people. Based on the physicochemical study, the river water quality deteriorates mainly due to organic contaminants which was measured through high BOD, COD and TKN content of the water samples and due to high discharge of domestic discharges, sewage wastes, open defecation, livestock discharges all along the river course. A sum of 3372 macrobenthic individuals comprising of 58 families were collected during the study. The macrobenthic abundance (97 numbers) was perceived at Pabanasam (T1) during March and June; less (36 numbers) assemblage was observed at Thiruppudaimaruthur (T4). The Family Biotic Index level indicates excellent quality at 10.42% of the sampling stations, very good quality at 6.25% stations, good quality at 25% stations, fair quality at 20.83% stations, fairly poor quality at 16.67% stations and poor quality of water at 20.83% of the stations; EPT and EPT/C Index shows uneven distribution of pollution sensitive and pollution tolerant organisms throughout the river system. ASPT and BMWP score of the study showed the water quality from excellent to poor. At present the perennial river is under threat of anthropogenic disturbances during festival periods especially at upstream areas, Tirunelveli city and suburban reaches due to higher pilgrimage and various religious and rituals practices.

Perennial river Tamirabarani is one among the river which feeds both the southern
districts (Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi) of Tamil Nadu, India. Higher urbanization practices along
the river basin areas increases the pollutant discharges into the river without any prior treatment
which in-turn increases the incidence of water born diseases throughout the basin areas. The
present study was planned to study the current bacteriological status of the river basin at 12
different stations for a period of 15 months. The results showed that the sampling stations at
urban reaches showed higher incidence of bacterial populations and the content was increased
downstream areas when compared with upstream sampling points. Based on the water quality
criteria of CPCB, India the quality of the river was classified as class “B” to class “E” during the
study.