Baliyatra pollution irks locals

CUTTACK/ KENDRAPADA: Baliyatra has left the stretch between Killa Padia and the Mahanadi riverbed in Cuttack and the four-km beach in Paradip littered with garbage and remnants of kiosks.
Open air kitchens set up by traders and defecation has also spoilt the beach, while stench from rotten food is becoming unbearable at both places. This has left residents worried about sanitation.People of Cuttack blamed the municipal corporation for not taking adequate steps to clean the ground.
"Two days after completion of the fair, one can see tonnes of garbage. If it is not cleaned forthwith, there will definitely be an outbreak of diseases," said Shyamanand Rout, a resident of Madhusudan Nagar in Cuttack.
Over 1,300 stalls had come up this year and on an average three lakh people visit the fair every day in Cuttack. "The authorities should not allow Baliyatra on the beach. It is a disgusting to see people every morning queuing up to answer Nature's call along the coastline and in the Casuarina forest. It is impossible to open windows till late morning because of the stench," said Prasanta Jena, an employee of Paradip Port Trust. It is high time the port authorities and the Paradip notified area council act together, Jena added.
Some people have even discontinued morning walk on the beach. "Pollution is stopping people from visiting the beach," said Bikash Panda, an hotelier of Paradip. Chairperson of Paradip municipality Manjulata Jena said, "The authorities have started cleaning the beach. Work should be over in three days."
Some Cuttack residents echoed the view. "Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has been organizing the fair for last so many years but has failed in cleaning the ground properly after the event," said Rajat Das, a lawyer.
CMC officers said steps were being taken to clean the ground at the earliest. "Baliyatra was hosted on 37 acre and cleaning such a huge patch is an uphill task. We have outsourced cleaning to a private agency and are closely monitoring its work. Hopefully, the ground will be clean in five days," said chairman of CMC public health committee Ranjan Biswal. The private agency will be paid Rs 4.62 lakh for collecting garbage and dumping it on the outskirts of Cuttack.