Dhenkanal: Brahmani, the second largest river in Odisha is termed as the ‘lifeline’ of undivided Dhenkanal district. However, the river is now battling with alarming levels of pollution due to the discharge of toxic and industrial effluents into it, sources informed Sunday. Such is the situation that the river water can neither be used for consumption nor for agriculture. A large number of industrial units have come up close to the banks of the Brahmani. They are continuously discharging toxic and waste materials into the river, sources pointed out.
However, both the district administration and the Odisha government have turned a blind eye to the blatant polluting act. They are not taking any action against the industrial units, alleged locals. Environmentalists have warned that the situation is turning critical and the day is not far away when the residents of the district will have to pay a heavy price for the pollution-hit river. The Brahmani is a major seasonal river in Odisha and is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers at Vedavyas near Rourkela in Sundargarh district. The Sankh and Koel rivers originate from Chhotanagpur plateau in Jharkhand.
The Brahmani River flows through Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, and Kendrapara districts and plays an important role in irrigating thousands of hectares of farmlands. It is also the main source of drinking water in many of the above-mentioned districts. The worst polluted stretch of 80 kilometres of the 541-km-long river lies in the Dhenkanal district. The river divides the Dhenkanal district into two parts. Odapada, Hindol, Sadar and Gondia blocks lie on one side while Parjang, Kamakhyanagar, Kankadahada, and Bhuban blocks are on the other side.
A barrage has been constructed at Samal in Angul district for the conservation of the river water so that it can be used to irrigate farmlands in Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, and Cuttack districts through the establishment of Rengali irrigation project. The Rengali irrigation project has been divided into two canals – left and right. While the left canal is used to irrigate 1,14,300 hectares of farmland, the right one is for 1,21,200 hectares.
However, farmers are now apprehensive about the water because of the presence of toxic effluents. They pointed out it happened due to the negligence of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). The industrial plants that have come up in Odapada and Parjang blocks are discharging toxic waste into the river. As a result, people of the riparian villages are being deprived of clean drinking water. The river water pollution has also affected the fish population and hundreds of fishermen have lost their livelihood. The turtle population which resides at Rankia of Kamakhyanagar block and Budhibili river islet in the river is also facing extinction due to pollution. Several outfits have time and again raised the demand for Cleaning the river and making it free from pollution.
However, their demands seem to have fallen on deaf ears. When contacted, SPCB’s regional officer Anup Kumar Mallick said that the office in Bhubaneswar is in charge of preventing pollution in the Brahmani. Hence he will not be able to say anything.
