BHUBANESWAR: Industries alone are not to be blamed for water pollution in Orissa. A large dose of contribution comes from agriculture and domestic sectors too.

Runoffs from agriculture fields, contaminated with pesticides as well as insecticidal chemicals, have been identified as a major pollutant of water in the State.

Though the State Pollution Control Board has identified industries and mines consuming more than 500 kilo litre water per day (KLD) as major polluting industries, domestic and agriculture sectors pollute as much, if not more. Pollution caused by urbanisation, particularly discharge of domestic effluent to rivers and water bodies, industrial wastewater to surface water bodies and ground are a growing concern in the State.

According to a paper presented by two scientists of the SPCB at Orissa Environment Congress, domestic water consumption in urban areas has gone up with the growth in population as well as demand. At the same time, it has also led to a situation wherein discharge of waste water has risen multifold. Most of the discharge is made into the rivers as the major towns are located by them. Besides, the abolition of the dry latrine system has prompted the urban local bodies to switch to septic tanks but in many places, the waste is directly released to rivers.

Such a situation has added to the pollution load on rivers. The fact that no urban local body has executed a full fledged sewerage scheme with water treatment plant has not helped the cause. Even the Capital City does not have a fullfledged sewage treatment plant yet.

Since construction of sewage and drainage systems is very expensive affairs with little return from investment, availing loans is a difficult process. However, the State Government has now tied up with international agencies to source funds for drainage system and sewage treatment plants in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in the future.

The paper reveals that there are at least 2758 industries which consume over 100 KLD water, 46 of them being in the highest bracket of 500 KLD and more/ Similarly, there are 196 mines which consume as much water.

Among the industries, five pulp and paper units consume over 66,000 KLD water while nine integrated iron and steel units account for a whopping 2,77,686 KLD. Another major segment is thermal power plants which consume 4.47 lakh KLD.

The paradox, however, is that while industries have been made to come up with effluent treatment plants, no ULB has executed sewage treatment plant.