Jajpur: The rapid industrialization that has taken place in Jajpur district since 1995 has hardly made any difference in uplifting the financial condition of the district’s people. Instead these industries have burdened them with respiratory diseases in return of giving away their lands for industrial development.
As per the information shared by the health department, as many as 201 persons succumbed to TB in 2018 and 2019. Of them, 107 were from mining and industrial areas like Sukinda and Danagadi which means industrial areas accounted for 53 percent deaths due to TB in the district.
As many as 85 villagers of Manpur village of Dhuligarh panchayat under Danagadi block have so far died due to effects of air pollution.
Worst still, a total of 2,800 TB patients have been identified in the district since 2018 till July 18, 2020. And 939 patients are from mines and industrial areas in the district.
From the above data, even a yeoman can easily understand the prevailing alarming situation in the area.
It is pertinent to mention here that Kalinganagar industrial area in Jajpur district has been featured in the seven most polluted cities in Odisha among the 106 such cities in the country.
Kalinganagar is the second worst polluted city in Odisha. Earlier, National Green Tribunal too expressed its concern over the increasing levels of pollution in Kalinganagar area.
Local residents alleged that the plants habitually switch off their electrostatic precipitator (ESP) on holidays and during nights. As a result, hazardous smoke mixed with dust particles is being released into the air. They held the Odisha State Pollution Control Board solely responsible for this.
“As we know it that the air pollution has reached such a level that it can never be made worth living, we are living on sufferance,” they added.
When contacted, regional officer, OSPCB, Kalinganagar, Pramod Kumar Behera said he has not received any complaints on ESPs being shut on holidays and during nights. Yet, we will conduct an investigation and if any plant is found guilty of shutting down its ESPs, action would be taken against it,” he informed.
These industries have also failed in providing jobs to local youths. A total of 24,596 unemployed youths have got their names registered with the district employment exchange. Shocking enough, only one of them has got employment though the employment exchange. And what is more shocking is that not a single youth has been employed at mines and plants in Kalinganagar through this office.
PNN