Jajpur: Kalinganagar town was given the tag of the ‘second-most polluted’ area in India according to a report published by ‘Greenpeace’ five years back. With nothing being done to counter it, the woes of the people have increased manifold since then.
The main cause behind the pollution is toxic emissions by various plants operating in Kalinganagar. Now a new company, ‘Jatia Steel Ltd’ is all set to start operations in the town. People are of the opinion that with the advent of the unit, pollution woes will only increase.
The proposed plant will come up at Jakhapura and will produce 7.50 lakh tonne of rolled products annually. For smooth operations, the company has published a notice to conduct public hearing April 29 at Danagadi Bhawan here.
The company has said it will employ 60 local residents during construction and once the company is operational, 150 others will be provided jobs. Locals however, are not impressed. They said that in the past many other companies had made such promises only to later employ people from outside the district and the state.
Hence local organisations here are in no mood to allow the construction of a new steel plant as they feel it will only increase pollution woes. The management of the firm meanwhile is trying to win over the locals by taking the help of influential people in the area.
A number of people pointed out that once the ‘Jatia Steel Plant’ becomes opperational, air and water pollution levels will increase in Jakhapura, Kacherigaon, Dashamania and Ravana areas. They said that this will have a harmful effect on the students of Jakhapura High School, Raghunath ME School, Jagadiha Primary School, Khapuriapada UP School, St Xavier’s School and Pingal Nodal High School.
Sources said that the air and water pollution levels in the area have turned unbearable for the residents. Many people have been affected by kidney diseases and tuberculosis. The fatality rate due to pollution has also grown manifold, they added.
Earlier, cases have been filed over pollution at the National Green Tribunal and Orissa High Court. However, it has not helped. Once it had been decided that companies will take steps to make the Gonda nullah pollution free. However, nothing has happened.
Similarly companies have failed to live up to their promise of providing green cover to 33 per cent land in their respective units. Earlier plants were directed not to release waste water. The units had also agreed to the proposal of Jajpur Cluster Development department regarding the establishment of a common effluent treatment plant (CETP).
They had accepted proposals regarding regular sprinkling of water on the roadsides. However, none of the promises have been kept. The result has been disastrous. A recent air quality monitoring data states that toxic chemicals like pheneolic compound, cyanide and chromium are 15 times higher than the permissible limits in Gonda nullah, Kharasrota and Brahmani rivers.
When contacted, SPCB, regional officer Pramod Kumar Behera said that two firms have decided to hold their public hearing camps soon. Steps will be put in place to tackle pollution as per the suggestions of the local residents, he said.
PNN
