Paper boats on the Mahanadi river bank in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack/Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: As lakhs of miniature boats made of thermocol and coloured with lead-based paints were set sail in rivers and other water bodies on the occasion of Kartik Purnima, environmentalists raised a cry of concern.

The tradition of setting sail such boats in rivers such as Mahanadi, Kathajodi and Kuakhai on this day has become a major cause of pollution. Earlier, eco-friendly plantain and shola pith (a milky white sponge-wood) boats used to be set sail in the rivers. Over the years, these gave way to boats made of thermocol.

Thermocol is, according to environmentalists, a “hazardous material”.

“Thermocol causes pollution as it is non-biodegradable. Besides, lead-based paint used in the boats contaminates the river as it is a carcinogenic heavy metal which dissolves in water,” environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty told The Telegraph today.

“The situation warrants a ban on sailing of boats made of thermocol in water bodies. It should be mandatory to make the boats out of eco-friendly material,” said Mohanty. “In fact, shola pith which was used earlier is a completely natural alternative.” Satyabrata Rout, who sells these boats at Jhanjir Mangala, however said shola pith was not easily available. “There are apparently no alternatives to thermocol,” he said. Kedar Sahu, another seller at Tinkonia Bagicha, echoed Rout.

The state pollution control board seems to have no provisions as yet to control sailing of these boats on such occasions. The authorities of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been dealing with the problems. With around 30,000 people sailing thermocol boats today in the historic Bindusagar lake, the BMC and members of Bhubaneswar Sanskrutika Parishad, a voluntary body, predict that tomorrow the pond will yield more than eight tractors loaded with waste.

Water bodies such as Bindu Sagar and Manikarnika of Kapileswar, temple ponds of Bhimeswar, Sundareswar and Brahmeswar are heavily polluted during the celebration.