Talcher: An alleged attempt by the district administration to revive a defunct carbon plant at Ekagharia village here in Angul district received a jolt after villagers in the area opposed the move on grounds of pollution and environmental issues, a report said Thursday.
The matter came to fore after a delegation of the villagers led by village committee president Lambodar Bhutia, ward member Ranjan Kumar Debata, villagers Anil Kumar Nanda, Malay Kumar Satapathy, Manas Satapathy, Sumant Behera and Ashok Kumar Satapathy submitted a written complaint to the district administration urging the Collector to intervene.
They warned that they will be forced to resort to an agitation if the district administration tries to make the plant operational overruling their opposition for its revival.
HEALTH HAZARD
- The privately owned plant is about 100 metres from the village
- The area is close to the elephant corridor, Ekagharia reserve forest and Kanhei Jena hill range
- When operational, the effluents from the plant polluted the ground water, natural water bodies and air
- While examining the ground water it was found that toxic chemicals including cyanide were present in it
The plant in dispute is a privately owned Jalan carbon plant which is situated about 100 metres from the village.
The opposition of the villagers stems from the fact that the area where the plant has come up is close to the elephant corridor, Ekagharia reserve forest and Kanhei Jena hill range.
The villagers claimed that the plant authorities with the help of some vested interest group are trying to revive the plant for which they urged the district administration to intervene and stop making the plant operational.
They alleged that not a single person in the area has been given placement in the plant while they are falling ill in regular intervals by coming in contact with pollutants emerging from the plant.
They alleged that the plant lying in close proximity to the elephant corridor is an irritant to the movement of the pachyderms in the area and will contribute to the destruction of flora and fauna in the Ekagharia reserve forest and the hills.
Similarly, the farmlands of the villagers, a water body Tasiri nullah and a Dalit slum lying close to the plant premises are bearing the brunt of the pollution emerging from the plant.
They claimed that the effluents discharged by the plant had polluted the ground water, natural water bodies and air when it was operational.
There are several instances of villagers and livestock falling ill and farmland getting damaged after coming in contact with waste water discharged from the plant.
The villagers have staged several agitations in past and tried to bring the matter before the district administration but the latter’s indifference to their plight forced them to approach the National Green Tribunal.
The villagers’ repeated agitations finally fructified as the district administration collected the ground water in the area and conducted its examination.
The examination found presence of various toxic chemicals including cyanide in the ground water which have confirmed their claims regarding pollution from the plant, Bhutia said.
PNN
