Gangua Nullah issue: HC seeks reply from state govt

The Orissa High Court on Friday sought a response from the state government on how Gangua Nullah water will get treated before being merged with Daya river.

The court was informed that all the drains of Bhubaneswar meet at Gangua Nullaa and the Nullah discharges untreated water into Daya river which flows through Khurda and Puri districts and eventually enters Chilika polluting its water. That’s why there is a need to treat the nullah water before it is merged into river.

Expressing concern over it, the High Court has instructed the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Pollution Control Board and Urban Development Department to come up with a plan following a proper research to get rid of the problem.  

The HC’s order came in response to the report filed by amicus curiae Mohit Agarwal as part of adjudication on a PIL over threat to ecology of Chilika.

Agarwal had informed the court that the cause of pollution and presence of heavy metal in the waters of Chilika is Daya river.

The petitioner had raised pollution as one of the six issues to be considered by the court for preservation of Chilika. The other five were illegal prawn culture, uncontrolled boat operation and oil spills, siltation, depletion of mangrove forest of Bhitarkanika and prawn culture by illegal Bangladeshi migrants and poaching.

Agarwal said, “The Chilika ecosystem is getting hampered after untreated water of Gangua Nullah being merged with Daya river water. Concerned over it, the court asked the state government, BMC and apartment owners to draft a plan on how Gangua Nullah water will get treated before being merged with Daya water.”

The High Court also instructed the revenue department and Chilika Development Authority to come up with regulations for prawn cultivation. Next hearing of the case will be held in October 26.