Simulia: Mushrooming of rice mills, most of whom operate without environmental clearances, has created an alarming situation in this block in Balasore district. Mindless dumping of black ash on roadsides and near residential colonies by these rice mills has posed health hazards to people in the block.
Black ash has polluted the air what with thick layers of toxic ash depositing on flora and land. Direct release of effluents by these rice mills to water bodies has damaged the fertility of soil.
Several complaints against these rogue rice mills have yielded zilch, said villagers. Only one rice mill in the region has got environmental permission. An RTI query in this regard revealed that the remaining four rice mills in the block operate without permission of the authorities.
Even as these rice mills falsely claim that they have been operating with proper licences, the district administration and the pollution control body are sitting quite over this issue. The rice mills are situated on Ranital-Balikhand road and the patch between Maitapur on NH-5 and Jamujhadi- Dhamra road.
Over 50 students are enrolled at ‘Matrupuram’, run by Sri Aurobinda Mission Trust Ashram since 1980, which is located within 50 metres of one such polluting rice mill. The health and lives of these tender children are exposed to toxic air released by these polluting factories, sources said.
There are 35 inmates living in the hostel. Given the proximity of the hostel to the rice mill, many inmates of the hostel have fallen sick, Saritarani Das, a Class VI girl inmate, said. Elderly people, especially those suffering from asthma are the most vulnerable of the lot, said 85-year old Indramani Naik of Bhagia area. Digambar Naik, a local person, said even though multiple complaints have been lodged with the authorities in this connection, they have fallen on deaf ears.
Tarapada Giri of Gaudadia village says the rice mills have not taken no-objection notes from villages before setting up their units. Similarly, Tuku Patra, a co-villager, said their clothes get soiled with black ash. Manjulata Singh, a former sarapanch of Maitapur, says as there are layers of black ash on land and leaves, farming has been severely affected in the region.
Kanhu Singh, a local teacher, echoes the sentiments of others. He said toxic effluents being released by the errant rice mills go into water bodies making them an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Many farmers in the area also complain that they have been affected as their land has lost its fertility because of the toxic effluents released by the rice mills. The villagers have demanded immediate closure of these polluting units, failing which they will resort to an agitation. PNN
