KARTIK SAHU, OP
Kataka: City wastewater continues to enter the Kathajodi River through a drain near Khan Nagar, allegedly in violation of an Orissa High Court directive prohibiting the discharge.
The pollution has raised public health concerns, affecting people bathing in the river, livestock and aquatic life.
Prafulla Sahoo, secretary of the Khan Nagar-Khapuria Indus trial Area Anchal Puja Committee, said residents had approached the High Court against the discharge, following which it directed the administration, particularly the Kataka Municipal Corporation, to stop the practice.
However, the order remains unimplemented, he alleged.
“We have approached the court several times, but the administration has failed to take effective action.
Residents continue to suffer from river pollution,” Sahoo said.
Mayor Singh acknowledged that a small quantity of wastewater still flows into the river through the Khan Nagar drain.
He said the earlier problem near Matribhavan had been resolved with Railway cooperation.