Cuttack, Nov. 23: Orissa High Court has issued express orders for a halt on discharge of untreated sewage generated in the city to the Kathajodi river.

The court expected the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board to make functional “within two weeks” the existing sewage treatment plant at Matagajpur for treatment of domestic wastewater before discharge into the river.

The division bench of Justice M.M. Das and Justice Indrajit Mahanty issued the directive yesterday.

The order followed the submission of a report by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board on the disposal system of domestic wastewater in Cuttack.

“If steps are not taken and preventive measures are not adopted immediately, there is every likelihood that epidemics may spread throughout the city,” the court had observed while asking the OSPCB to submit its report.

A team headed by the regional officer of OSPCB in Cuttack, Santosh Kumar Panda, conducted a field study and recommended to stop direct discharge of untreated sewage to prevent further contamination of the Kathajodi.

The OSPCB had expressed concern that direct discharge of sewage through storm water drains at several locations was resulting in “deterioration” in the quality of the river’s water.

Trade pact

Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) today signed an MoU with Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment & Management (Girem) to project the capital city as a preferred business destination in the country.

“As a city, Bhubaneswar has many advantages. Through this partnership with Girem, we aim to make Bhubaneswar a leading investment destination for the services sector,” said BDA vice-chairman Vishal Dev.

“The MoU also aims to create one lakh jobs in the IT sector in the next seven years,” said Girem president Shyam Sundar S. Pani.