Bhubaneswar, Oct. 6: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board today issued show cause notices to 33 hotels, including two prominent ones, in the city for allegedly violating norms.

Yesterday, it had ordered closure of two hotels in the city.

The pollution board regional officer (Bhubaneswar) Hadibandhu Panigrahi said: "Most of the hoteliers have not taken the consent of the board and are operating without valid licence. Besides, they are discharging waste water into the ground without treating it."

The city houses more than nearly 130 hotels.

Panigrahi said that after explanations are submitted, the board would examine their replies and initiate action accordingly.

Reacting to the development, secretary of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha, K.K. Rao said: "We have fixed a meeting with the state pollution control board officials on Thursday. The state government officials will also attend it."

Besides taking up action against the errant hoteliers, the pollution board has decided to act tough so that the guidelines prepared by the Central Pollution Board (CPB) are implemented during immersion ceremony.

The state board asked the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack municipal corporations and Khurad Municipality to follow the pollution control norms during Durga Puja.

It also expressed displeasure that the authorities failed to implement the central board's guideline properly during the immersion of Ganesh idols.

The board asked the authorities to provide adequate number of temporary ponds for the immersion of the idols. It has also asked the authorities to constitute a committee comprising police, NGOs and representatives of Puja committees and stakeholders for implementation of the guidelines.