Aadi Perukku leaves Cauvery river polluted

TRICHY: Aadi Perukku is an auspicious festival when people throng river banks wishing for prosperity, but not many realise the damage such congregations cause to the environment. Heaps of garbage in the form of garlands, used pieces of cloth and plastic bags were floating on the Cauvery river after they were offered by devotees as part of the traditional practice. Newly-wed couples preserve their wedding garlands for this occasion and drop them into the river on Aadi Perukku. Besides, many devotees leave their clothes on the river bank and return wearing new clothes. Such practices affect the quality of the water and pollute the river bed. 

."Unless priests are educated on instructing the public to safely dispose their cloths instead of throwing them in the river, fruitful change would only be a distant dream,"