Miniature boats in a water body in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Cuttack, Nov. 6: Lakhs of people floated miniature thermocol boats in the Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers to celebrate Boita Bandana, giving a little thought to it that such practice would pose a threat to the water bodies.

However, officials of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, instead of addressing the issue, have come up with a bizarre explanation. According to them, the pollution caused to the rivers by thermocol boats is lesser than what is caused during the immersion of idols coloured with cheap lead and chrome based paints.

The officials, however, admitted that the non-biodegradable miniature boats could pollute the stagnant water bodies.

But, the pollution control board do not have any provisions in order to curb the use of non-biodegradable materials in making of miniature boats for Kartik Purnima. Environmental activists want the board to formulate a rule that would check the sale of boats that are not eco-friendly.

Member secretary of the board Rajib Kumar said: “No regulation for sale of paper boats with thermocol has been formulated till date.”

“There is no need for a guideline for it as everything harmful is covered under the Environment Protection Act,” the member secretary told The Telegraph today. He, however, failed to explain why no action had been taken so far.

“The tonnes of non-biodegradable waste, lying scattered all over rivers and water bodies, covers their surface area and checks the sunlight. This disturbs the oxygen cycle process and adversely affects acquatic flora and fauna,” a senior scientist of the board said on condition of anonymity.

On the other hand, the celebrations on the occasion of Kartik Purnima have exposed the rivers to a grave pollution threat as the boats, which are all made of thermocol, are biodegradable objects that do not decompose easily.

Earlier, eco-friendly plantains and shola pith (a milky white sponge wood) were used. Over the years, these gave way to boats made of thermocol. “The shola pith, which was earlier used, is a completely natural alternative. But non-biodegradable thermocol can pollute the river and other water bodies,” said Akhaya Das, environmental activist and president of the Jala Surakhya Manch.

“Authorities should put a ban on the use of thermocol boats and instead make eco-friendly materials popular,” Das said.

Shola is a plant that grows in marshy areas. The shoal pith is the cortex or core of the plant. Experts would remove the outer hard brown skin to get the inner soft material. But, thermocol is artificially produced in the laboratory.

“As shola pith is not easily available these days, thermocol is the best option,” said Radhamohan Sahu, a paper boat seller near Kanika Road.

Dilip Bag, another seller near Buxi Bazar, echoed the same, adding: “There is apparently no alternative to thermocol in terms of availability in the market.”