Kendrapara: The civic authorities will levy fines on residents who dump waste in the irrigation canal to revive the polluted water body.
The Victorian-era Gavari irrigation canal that meanders through the district headquarters township has become a dumping ground for waste and garbage by people who live on its periphery. "So, we have decided to take them to task," said Kendrapara Municipality executive officer Deb Prasad Bal.
An inquiry conducted by the municipal authorities has found 15 families with houses alongside the canal from where the they pollute the water body. "The houses discharged waste from septic tanks through underground waste pipes," he said.
The municipality has served notices to these and directed them to stop the discharge under Section 15 of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. "Each offender was fined Rs 3,675 under the rule. In the event that they defy the order, we will take action against under Section 268 (public nuisance) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of the Odishsa Municipality Act," Bal said.
The canal dates back to more than 150 years, constructed during the British rule. The British had dug it out for navigation purposes because of Kendrapara's poor road connectivity with Cuttack, the erstwhile capital of Odisha. Besides navigation, it catered to the needs of farmers to irrigate their croplands.
"Because of the absence of a proper waste management system, the canal has become a dumping ground for waste. The township also lacks a proper sewerage network to release waste materials. As a result, the canal has become polluted with waste material getting deposited in it," he said.
Bal said unless the residents realised the significance of a healthy civic life and stopped dumping waste in the canal, its refurbishment was not practical despite the civic body's cleanliness drive.
He mentioned that the municipality was taking several steps to improve hygiene.
"We are streamlining sanitation measures and making efforts to put in place the solid waste treatment system. We are also trying to chalk out a plan to put in place a proper drainage system."
