Jajpur/Kalinganagar: Even as heavy pollution at Manpur railway siding in Kalinganagar in Jajpur district has claimed 87 lives over last five years, the agency ferrying minerals and coal from the siding has denied the charges, a report said Saturday.
The area remains covered under a thick blanket of iron fines and coal dust making it difficult for people to breathe. Around 87 people in nearby villages of Gaudsahi, Suanlo and Manpur have died in last five years due to diseases like tuberculosis and jaundice. Fifty others are battling similar diseases now.
On an average around 200 trucks transport coal imported from Australia to companies in Kalinganagar from this railway siding. Recently, a villager named Sudarshan Nayak, 50, of Suanlo village died of jaundice November 12. Bairagi Munda of the same village and Ganga Nayak, Kuna Nayak and Birsha Nayak of Goudsahi have died over last two months.
The pollution here is so severe that around 60 tribal women have become widows at young age. There are fears that if urgent steps are not taken the death toll in the area might cross 100 sooner than later.
The main reason for this is the way of functioning of Om Logistics which transports minerals and coal from the railway siding violating environmental norms.
The firm does not have environmental clearance, and runs its business with the support of leaders of the ruling party. It hardly cares about checking pollution in the area.
The Regional Officer of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) recently pulled up the agency (Letter No: 1798, dated August 13, 2018) for its failure to control pollution in the area. But the agency which enjoys the support of the ruling party leaders has not taken any steps in this regard.
Om Logistics does not even sprinkle water in the area. It does not have an effluent treatment plant to check pollution. It does not have machines to wash the tyres of trucks transporting iron and coal. The firm has not built high walls or planted trees in the area which could have significantly reduced pollution.
The residents of Goudsahi, Mundasahi, Nilapada and Manpur have lodged several complaints with the district administration, but their pleas have been ignored.
Om Logistics Assistant Manager Pranabandhu Jena rejected the charges, and said the firm is sticking to pollution control norms. He said the reason for the deaths of the villagers could be something else.
The SPCB’s Regional Officer Pramod Kumar Behera said the firm will install a water sprinkler and a wheel cleaning machine for trucks by the end of this month and an ETP by 2019. He said action will be taken against Om Logistics if it fails to honour its promise.
PNN
