JAGATSINGHPUR: Protesting the establishment of a solid waste treatment plant, villagers of Kantapada under Jagatsinghpur municipality ransacked the construction site and storehouse on Monday.The villagers alleged that Kantapada, Jankoti, Badabag, Markandpur, Kantaballavpur and other nearby villages will be affected due to the waste treatment plant. “The proposed plant will pollute the environment of the area. We will intensify our protest if the administration does not scrap the project,” they threatened.The municipality officials rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the irate villagers but to no avail.
There are 21 Wards in Jagatsinghpur municipality housing over 40,000 people. Sources said the sanitation system in Jagatsinghpur town of different wards is in complete disarray. Due to lack of a treatment plant, garbage and waste are found dumped at different places in the town. Besides, fruit, vegetable, flower, meat and fish shops as well as hotels use Machhagaon sub canal, which flows through the town, as a dumping yard for their waste. The two km stretch of the sub-canal from Dusnumber to Purohitpur has been clogged with garbage generated from these shops.
In view of the situation, the municipality authorities decided to set up the solid waste treatment plant at Kantapada. However, the plan has hit a roadblock due to resistance from villagers.Junior engineer of Jagatsinghpur municipality Debabrat Mishra said work on the plant has been affected after villagers ransacked the storeroom and construction site. He informed that a local contractor has been awarded the tender to construct the plant at a cost of `3 crore. The project, to come up over 3.60 acre of land, will have a park and other facilities.Meanwhile, Jagatsinghpur police visited the construction site and started investigation into the ransacking incident.