CUTTACK: In blatant violation of restrictions imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and State Pollution Control Board, direct discharge of untreated sewage into river Kathajodi by Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) continues unabated.
The waste water generated from the city is collected in medium, small and tertiary drains stretching for about 1,724 km in and around the city. It then flows into two main stormwater channels.
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However, most of the waste water which flows through MSWC from Patapola to Matagajpur is directly discharged into Kathajodi through Khannagar sluice gate without treatment.
As per SPCB’s report, Kathajodi has become a junkyard courtesy the CMC’s glaring apathy as it continues to discharge waste water downstream, making the river unfit for drinking, bathing or irrigation.
The findings of the report also suggest that pollution level of the river comes under level C category which means that its water cannot be used for consumption, bathing and irrigation without treatment.
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“The waste water discharged through Khannagar sluice gate often stagnates in the river bed due to lean flow of the river. The stagnated water emits a foul smell, posing health hazards for residents of Khannagar and Khapuria,” said general secretary of Khannagar Khapuria Silpanchala Puja Committee Prafulla Kumar Sahoo.
He had filed a PIL in Orissa High Court in 2016 seeking intervention to stop the discharge of waste water into Kathajodi through Khannagar sluice gate.
“Despite repeated requests and reminders to the civic body, effluents were released into the river with glaring apathy. Going to court was the last resort,” said Sahoo.
CMC Commissioner Ananya Das, however, said the problem would be solved after completion of the sewage treatment plant at Matagajpur.
The treatment plant is expected to be completed within a year, she added.