SAMBALPUR: Officals of Agriculture department on Friday visited several villages in Hirakud to assess damage to crops due to release of effluent from Hindalco Industries Limited (HIL) plant in the area.
The farmers, united under the banner of Jaydurga Anchalik Krushak Sangathan handed over a memorandum over the issue to team led by chief district agriculture officer Santosh Ray.
Bhairaba, a farmer from Dengimacha said release of effluent from the plant has been continuing since 2011.
“The toxic gases released from the plant damage our crops during the months of July and August due to rains,” he said.
Though Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and National Green Tribunal (NGT) had confirmed that the damage to the crops is caused due to emission of effluent from the plant, nothing has been done to resolve the issue.
Bhairaba said Hindalo used to compensate the affected farmers but has stopped doing so for the last few years.
In the memorandum submitted to the agriculture officials, the farmers have warned of staging an agitation if no action is taken against the plant soon.
Ray said the emission from the Hindalco plant contains fluoride which usually gets carried away with rain water when it drizzles and later sticks to the paddy crops, ultimately damaging them. Around 200 acre of crops have been damaged due to the contamination.
“We will discuss about the situation with the chemical scientist at our laboratory in Chiplima and take necessary steps in this regard,” he said.