Local residents, numbering in thousands, have written a letter to Central pollution control Board, New Delhi asking it to intervene and sort out a severe pollution problem that is slow poisoning more than 60 sq km of the industrial sub-division of Bermo.

The letter sent last week and signed by thousands of residents of Phusro, Bokaro Thermal, Kathara, Jarangdih, Chandrapura and nearby areas, said the industrial zone was reeling under the adverse impact of air, water and sound pollution. Residents, including INTUC’s Hansraj Prasad, Brij Kishor Singh, Environmentalist Gulab Prajapati, Ex-Branch Manager of SBI, SB Singh, Dr H Kumar, Dr Nitish Kumar and Moti Mahto, apart from dozens of social organisations, have warned of a serious health hazard if immediate action is not taken to check pollution.

According to leading doctors of Bokaro Thermal Dr H.Kumar and Dr Nitish Kumar, hundreds of patients were turning up at local hospitals every day, complaining of pollution-related ailments like tuberculosis, asthma, breathlessness, skin diseases etc.

According to environmentalist Gulab Prajapati, the member of Damodar Bachao Andolan (DBA), in spite of reports by Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JPCB), neither Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) nor Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) or railways or private companies were taking adequate precautions to control pollution.

Prajapati said they have for long been asking the companies to stop dumping coal ash in the Damodar to keep the river water clean and take several measures — like using closed containers and sprinkling water regularly — to eliminate dust while transporting coal.

He said another suggestion, blatantly ignored by coal companies, was to ensure that open cast mines were filled with earth after coal was excavated.

Prajapati also alleged that thermal power stations, coal mines and chemical industries were among the largest contributors to pollution in the Bermo sub-division, but none of them were taking an active interest in taking steps to curb pollution.

Sources said that the Bokaro administration had already held several rounds of talks with coal companies and thermal power plant officials, adding he would take up the issue again.

“Bokaro Thermal is planning to get rid of two major pollutants — dry ash and coal slurry. Dry ash, coming out from chimneys, covers the area in a 2-3 feet carpet of ash while coal slurry dumped in overflowing ash ponds percolates to residential areas,” said Gulab Prajapati.

“District administration also asked officials of DVC and forest department to launch a massive afforestation drive, besides taking other initiatives to make Bermo pollution free,” ,” Prajapati said.

CCL sources, however, claimed the company had already begun an awareness programme with focus on proper disposal of waste, besides undertaking a project to plant more than 1 lakh saplings in Dhori, Bokaro, Kargli and Kathara during the ongoing monsoons.

GM of CCL Kathara colliery zone said they had already taken several anti-pollution initiatives.