10-Jan-2025

Rayagada(PR) A seminar was organized at the Jalchaya Project Conference Hall in Rayagada District Headquarters on maintaining a balance between environment and industry. The program was organized by Dr. Badal Kumar Tah, President of Rayagada Nagarika Mancha, under the supervision of Shyam Dash, member of the Forum. Annada Panigrahi, Pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh, was the main speaker and Deepak Raut, Pracharak of the Sangh, was the guest of honor. The heads of various organizations of Rayagada, as well as social, commercial and religious institutions, attended the seminar, while representatives of all the blocks of the district also attended. It is believed that the above topic has emerged as an important topic for the future generation and human society.
The delegates who attended the seminar, including various educational institutions, workshops, government departments, many representatives from 11 blocks of the district, journalists, and small industries, made their comments on various aspects. In his speech, Dr. Tah discussed the 300 million liter red mud pond of Vedanta Alumina that was broken a few days ago and the way he discussed it in detail showed how harmful it is for the surrounding and affected areas of the said industrial establishment as well as the people living in the river basin. He said that the destruction of the agricultural land in the said area and the death of the fish in the river after the said discharged toxic water mixed with the river have become a cause for concern for the protection of the environment. Similarly, Dr. Vikas Dash, Professor of Agricultural Sciences, who joined from the Mits Group, said that the water of the Nagarul river is being polluted mainly for industrial purposes, which needs to be stopped, otherwise it will become a matter of concern for the population in the future. The guest of honor, Shri Raut, shared his experience about the survey conducted by Seva Bharati regarding the breach of the Vedantara Red Mud Pond. Similarly, Satyajit Acharya, Head of Environment Department, who joined from Utkal Alumina, said that Utkal Alumina aims to become carbon neutral by 2040 and water neutral by 2030. Similarly, Rashmi Ranjan Dora, who joined on behalf of the Society for Fast Justice, said that while using water from the Nagavali river by illegally damming it, after using it, the polluted water is discharged into the river and even after repeatedly complaining to the administration, the administration ignores it and remains silent, the day will come when it will be a turning point for the residents of Rayagada living in the Nagavali river. Along with this, RTI Activiest Rabindra Patkhandal called the Red Mud Pond a pool of blood and reprimanded the industrial establishments for ignoring the environmental regulations. Finally, the main speaker Shri Panigrahi said that the industrial establishments must break their Red Mud Ponds themselves every 8 years. But he asked whether we are fulfilling our duties. Do we always see the mistakes of others and what are our duties and try to find a way to solve it? We always pay attention to industry but by giving importance to agro-based industry or traditional industry, we can keep our environment balanced. Currently, there are 26 trees per citizen in our country, but it should actually be 56, which is a simple calculation. And it is also true that if we do not take care of our duty and environment from now on, it is estimated that in the future after 200 years, Rayagada district will turn into a desert. So we should first do our duty and make the industrial institutions aware and apply pressure to follow their rules. It is better to start this from the village level, he said. We do not balance the environment, rather the environment balances us, so we have survived till now. The seminar was addressed by Vidulata Huika, Dharuni Saraka, Basant Ulka, Dhiru Panigrahi, Prabha Dora, Sudhir Mishra, Naren Kumundan, Ranjan Rath, Amulya Sahu and other guests. Finally, Shyam Dash thanked the guests and delegates for attending.