Environment around India’s largest manmade reservoir getting damaged
BHOPAL: The environment in and around Rihand Reservoir, considered the largest manmade reservoir in India, is getting damaged with high concentration of mercury, high pH, violations in fly ash disposal, ground water pollution with high fluoride concentration and so on. Silicosis, fluorosis and excess mercury are affecting the health of the residents around Rihand in Singrauli area in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
These are some of the findings in the final report of the empowered core committee that was submitted by Central Pollution Control Board to the principal bench of National Green Tribunal New Delhi on Monday during hearing of the case filed file by advocate Ashwani Dubey. The copy of the report was made available on Tuesday. The bench included justice Swatanter Kumar, chairperson, Justice UD Salvi, Justice MS Nambiar and expert members DK Agrawal and Ranjan Chatterjee.
Though Rihand Dam is located in Sonbhadra district of UP, its reservoir -Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar(Rihand)-is spread over 466 sq kms in MP and UP. The Rihand dam is built over river Rihand, a tributary of the Son river.
Petitioner Ashwani Dubey, a supreme court lawyer told HT over phone that the core committee was constituted last year for assessing environmental and health impact of pollution due to industrial activities in and around Rihand Sagar, be it from thermal power plants or coal based industries.
“I will go through the report which runs into several hundred pages and after that I can decide whether I have any objections”, he said.
In its order, the principal bench of NGT stated that copy of the final report be provided to counsels from both sides and if there were any objections from any side, the same be submitted within two weeks. The case has been listed for final arguments on September 29.
The report says there are number of health related issues like silicosis , fluorosis and the impact of mercury on the people in the Singrauli area, which needs to be examined in detail under a long term project to estimate the magnitude of health related problems in the area.
“In the area around Dala JP Cement factory, people with signs of lung manifestations were found, probably suggestive of silicosis. It was also found in people residing near roads on which coal was being transported”, the report says.