Cuttack, Aug 17: Almost a month after National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the district administration to keep the Mahanadi and Kathjori riverbeds free from dumping of garbage and household waste material, the district Collector has asked Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) authorities to ensure that no garbage is thrown into the two rivers. Meanwhile, authorities of State Water Resources Department have identified six places on the Mahanadi riverbed and erected barricades to prohibit the dumping of garbage there. Several trenches have also been dug up on the Kathojodi river bed through which waste materials including construction debris were being dumped regularly by individuals, institutions and establishments. Besides these initiatives, a public awareness drive will be launched soon to make the people aware about the ill-effects of dumping garbage on riverbeds, district Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra said. Two squads have been formed to keep a tab on erring individuals/establishments. Official sources said Executive Engineers of the two irrigation divisions have been asked to file complaints against errant individuals, institutions and establishments dumping garbage and debris in the two rivers.
On July 15, the tribunal’s bench in Kolkata, passing an interim order on a petition in this regard, had asked the CMC to ensure that solid waste, including construction debris and household waste, are not dumped on the beds of Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers.
