Sambalpur: Tension gripped Bargarh after wastewater from the district hospital flowed into a nearby pond and farmland, officials said Wednesday.
Enraged villagers of Tukurla closed the main gate of the 300-bed hospital for around an hour Tuesday, alleging that the medical wastewater released from the hospital was flowing into the pond, on which they depend for bathing and other purposes.
“The contaminated wastewater is being released into the pond, which is hazardous and can cause serious infectious disease,” Tanjua Pradhan, an agitator, said.
“We had informed the hospital authorities about the release of the medical wastewater earlier also. Since no step was taken to resolve the problem, we closed the entrance gate,” Pradhan said.
Tukurla has a population of around 2,000 people and many depend on the pond water for bathing and cultivation.
“Though the hospital authorities are aware that a large number of villagers depend on the pond, they are not taking any steps. The wastewater of the hospital is also flowing into the farmland and will also affect the fertility of the soil,” another agitator said.
The irate villagers withdrew their agitation after hospital authorities held a discussion and assured them that the problem would be resolved.
Bargarh Chief District Medical Officer BB Meher said the wastewater of the hospital flows to a concrete tank through pipelines and later pumped out into a pit.
However, the wastewater flowed into the pond of the village after some of the pipes of the hospital broke, he said.
“We have already appraised the officials concerned about the problem and it will be resolved soon,” he added.