Cuttack, March 1: A group of professional scuba divers today cleaned underwater waste in the Mahanadi river to create awareness among people against pollution in the city.

The divers from the Kalinga Divers' Foundation, led by Sabir Bux, recovered 300kg of degradable and non-degradable waste from a stretch of 200 metres on the riverbank at Jobra.

The effort has brought into focus the high level of pollution caused in the river by the dumping of non-degradable items, including polythene and toxic non-disposal waste generated from various hospitals.

Over 150 volunteers took part in the awareness drive. Most of them are college students, who cleaned up the waste littered along the river embankment.

"We found a lot of garbage, including puja items packed in polythene bags and clothes, dumped in the river bed. We were surprised to find even old stretchers, syringes and hospital waste, including gloves, during the cleaning operation," said Bux.

Bux said the Mahandi river was a rich ecosystem with the soil deposit taking place throughout the year. "But, dumping of polythene and other hospital waste might create problems in future. A lot of people are depending on the river," said another volunteer.

An office-bearer of the divers' foundation said the clean river campaign would continue, and they would resume their operation on March 7, the day after Holi. The Kathajodi river, a tributary of the Mahanadi, too, will be cleaned up.

Manaswini Moharana, 20, who had won 12 gold medals in the national windsurfing championship in Goa in 2012, was part of the group.

"We hope that our initiative in cleaning the river will inspire people from all walks of life to protect the ecosystem. They will not dump waste in the river," said Manaswini, the sole female scuba diver in the team.

"All of us can dive up to 200ft and had a unique experience today in cleaning the river," she said.

"It was a voluntary effort. We found that apart from the Mahanadi, the Kathajodi river, is also turning into a dumping yard," said D. Sekhar Rao, another scuba diver.

It is a practice in the city to immerse idols during the Dussehra festival in the Kathajodi river. Tonnes of flowers and other articles are also dumped in the river.

Bux said that after a few cleaning sessions in the river, he would place a proposal before the state government to promote diving as a sport in the Mahanadi.

"The river has a healthy population of aquatic life, including rare fishes and turtles. Hence, it is an ideal place for eco-tourism. I will shortly do a video shoot under the Mahanadi river, which would showcase its rich aquatic environment," said Bux.

Bignaraj Purohit, executive engineer of the Mahandi barrage division, admitted that the authorities had failed to check pollution in the river completely.

"There are incidents of jaundice outbreak in Sambalpur and Cuttack. It is high time that steps were taken to protect rivers from getting polluted," said Purohit.

Purohit said that usually, all the river waste gets cleaned up during high floods. "But, dumping of polythene bags and puja items should be stopped. The pollution control board is taking steps to ensure that industrial effluents and sewage are not directly released into the river," he said.

The Mahandi river system boasts of a rich ecosystem with over 100 species of fish found even in its tributaries, including the Tel. A large number of migratory birds are spotted in the entire stretch of the Mahandi from the Jobra barrage to Chahata Chhak in Cuttack.