PARADIP: Residents of six villages are up in arms against the proposed solid waste management plant at Bhitargarh in Kujang block of the district.On Tuesday, villagers of Rangiagada, Siju, Chandinipada, Nimidihi, Kothi and Paradipgarh under the banner of Maa Sarala Gramya Surakhya Committee submitted memorandums to the member secretary of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and officials of the district administration and Paradip Municipality urging them to shift the proposed waste plant to some other place which is free of human settlement.
The villagers' move comes a day before the public hearing which will be held at Bhitargarh by OSPCB for the proposed plant's environmental clearance on Wednesday.The villagers said the plant site is in close proximity to human habitations and is surrounded by Rangiagada, Siju, Chandinipada, Nimidihi, Kothi and Paradipgarh.
There are alternative sites free from human settlements available within Paradip Municipality area. However, the authorities have decided to dump waste generated from Municipality areas at Bhitargarh without considering the hazardous effect it will have on residents of these six villages, they said.Moreover, the villagers are already reeling under air and water pollution as the area is close to several industries such as PPL, IFFCO, Paradip Carbons, Refinery of IOCL besides the Paradip Port.
Due to large-scale dredging by IOCL for its refinery, freshwater resources have been depleted in the areas and villagers are forced to use saline groundwater, alleged Kedar Chandra Rout, a committee member.The decision of Municipality authorities to set up the solid waste plant at Bhitargarh will add to pollution woes of the area and create more health hazards for villagers, said another member Tahali Charan Das.If the proposed plant is not shifted from Bhitargarh, residents of the six villages will intensify their protest, warned Bhagyadhar Jena, a villager.
On Thursday last week, an expert team of the World Bank team had visited Bhitargarh and expressed satisfaction over the plant site. Paradip Municipality has identified 20 acres of land in the village to set up the solid waste management plant at a cost of `42 crore under Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP).