Cuttack: Release of untreated sewage from medical facilities in the city is contaminating River Mahanadi and causing kidney ailments among people residing in riparian areas, experts said.
Medical institutes like the Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) and Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) do not have effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
It is learnt that SCBMCH authorities had initiated the process to set up two ETPs by spending Rs 30 lakh three years ago. The project was scheduled to be implemented by May 2017. However, construction of the ETPs is yet to be completed.
Sources said SCBMCH authorities have asked the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) to implement the ETP project by August. They have also asked hospital manager Soumya Mohanty and biomedical waste project manager Bishwajita Mohanty to send daily reports on the project.
At present, the hospital is releasing untreated sewage to an underground chamber which flows into the nearby Taladanda canal connected to the Mahanadi.
“At least 150 kilolitres of sewage is released from SCBMCH daily. Once completed, the two ETPs can treat 200 kilolitres of sewage a day,” said PHEO executive engineer Sushant Kumar Ghadei.
Sources said at least 50 kilolitres of untreated sewage is released from AHRCC per day. “We have invited tenders to construct an ETP at the cancer hospital,” Ghadei added.