After dumping excavated soil and construction of intake well by industries right inside Hirakud dam reservoir (HDR), release of effluents and pollutants into the reservoir has emerged as a major concern.
Already under pressure due to siltation, thick layer of black substances can be now seen floating on the shorelines of HDR near Balbaspur. Fishermen as well as locals who go for dip in the reservoir apprehend these to be industrial effluents discharged by the industries upstream. However, its quantity is on the rise and locals said it is a regular phenomenon.
With industries mushrooming along the periphery of the HDR, it is long being alleged that they have been directly discharging untreated effluents into the HDR. While oil slick has been noticed many a time with agencies involved in various projects washing their machineries and vehicles along the shoreline, there have been numerous instances when fly ash from the industries is flown into the HDR during monsoon or more recently due to leakage of ash slurry pipe in OPGC.
Former MP Bhabani Hota had attributed the damage to paddy saplings over hundreds of acres in Hirakud command area to industrial pollutants in January last year. Hota had claimed that massive water pollution and toxicity could be one of the reasons behind the death of the saplings.
Convenor of Water Initiative Odisha, Ranjan Panda said while there is no denying that it is industrial effluents discharged by some industry, it cannot be clearly said what this material is.
He said the Pollution Control Board should immediately test the materials and make an emergency monitoring of all the industries and mines that surround the reservoir.
Regional Officer of Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Surya Shankar Mishra, said there was no threat to HDR over release of effluents ever since Orient Paper Mills shut its operations in Brajrajnagar. He said the effluents could have flowed into the HDR from upstream in Chhattisgarh.