: The NHRC has issued a notice to the Collector, Angul and the Chairman, State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to file an action taken report (ATR) within 4 weeks on the acute dust pollution due to transportation of coal by road in Talcher. It warned of personal appearance of them if any lapses are made to file the ATR in the stipulated time.
The NHRC took a serious note of the issue after one Deba Prasad Sahoo, an RTI activist, had filed a petition on the dust pollution and accumulation of dust on road due to transportation of coal in hundreds of trucks daily on the NH 149 stretch from Bankadhara square up to Banarapal junction. The area in the vicinity of the road is severely polluted and there is a thick layer of dust on the road, buildings and cornfields due to the regular dispatch of coal. People of the locality are prone to various pollution- related diseases, including asthma and cancer.
Sahoo had approached the NHRC with a prayer to remove dust from the entire stretch, besides asking the authorities for regular sprinkling of water, distribution of mask, banana and jaggery among school children and conducting meetings on monthly basis to curb pollution. He complained that the negligence of the district administration and the SPCB, besides the MCL authorities to the issue, is a violation of the\ human rights of the people.
The NHRC first issued a direction to the district Collector of Angul and the Chairman, SPCB on February 9. However, two months later, Sahoo again approached the Commission as no concrete action was taken on ground. Meanwhile, Sahoo has warned of filing a PIL in the Orissa High Court in this connection if the problem was not addressed soon.