Paradip, Oct. 17: Air pollution caused by suspended mineral ore and dust particles from cargo and good carriers has made life miserable for residents of Paradip Port Township.

"Someone new to Paradip will immediately know that he has stepped into a pollution zone. Paradip would figure as the country's most polluted port city. The air smells pungent here. People are increasingly contracting respiratory diseases because of excessive air pollution. Ore transportation has become a major reason for pollution in the township area," said green activist Ayashkant Ray.

"There has been no letup in the situation regardless of the claims made by the pollution control board, port authorities and officials of industrial units in Paradip. Residents are facing health problems caused by polluted air. Children and elderly people are suffering the most. The authorities need to wake up and take measures to clean up the air," said Rajendra Acharya, a resident of Madhuban.

"It has been found in the past that the air quality both within and outside the port have transgressed prescribed limits. The port authorities had been asked to formulate a comprehensive plan and implement it to check pollution," said regional officer, state pollution control board, Prasant Kumar Kar.

"The port has taken pollution control measures, as a result of which the degree of air and water pollution in the core operational area of the port and port civil township areas have gone down. However, there room for improvement," Kar added.

The Central Pollution Control Board had entrusted IIT, Delhi, to come up with a comprehensive environmental pollution index (CEPI) in the Paradip industrial cluster. The environment survey, which was a composite measurement of air and water pollution and land degradation, had found that the level of pollution was at 69.6, an index on the borderline of critically polluted zone. The CEPI for critically polluted zone stands at 70.

The IIT survey covered the nature of toxins, the scale of industrial activities, the level of ambient pollution, impact on humans and eco-geological features within a 2km radius of the industrial cluster, said senior environment scientist, state pollution control board, Nihar Ranjan Sahu.

The port has erected ultra-violet net-barricade cover along the perimeter wall to arrest dust.

Nearly 8 lakh trees have been planted in and around Paradip.

Fixed water sprinklers have been installed in the coal stockyard and ore stockpiling areas.

Operation of mist cannons, truck tyre cleaning system at the gates, deployment of mechanical sweepers have been put in place to curb air pollution, said deputy chairman, Paradip port trust, N. Vaiyapuri.