Smelter plant emissions damage paddy sapplings

SAMBALPUR: Paddy saplings in over 25 acres of land across three villages in the vicinity of smelter plant of Hindalco at Hirakud, have been destroyed allegedly due to emissions from the smelter plant. This apart, standing crops over 15 acres of land in Nua Jamda village have also been damaged. A team of officials from the Deputy Director of Agriculture office visited the affected villages on complaint from the locals on Saturday and confirmed the damage. Farmers of Nua Jamda, Dengimocha and Mohammadpur villages on Saturday morning found paddy saplings damaged due to suspended particulate matter (SPM) allegedly released from the smelter plant. The saplings in over 25 acres would have been used for transplantation in more than 350 acres.In Nua Jamda, where farmers had gone ahead with transplantation, the SPM damaged crops in over 15 acres. This is for the third time such a damage has taken place after 2008 and 2003. On both the occasions, Hindalco had admitted to its fault and compensated the affected farmers. The affected farmers informed about the incident to Deputy Director of Agriculture Ashok Mohanty who dispatched a team including plant scientists to the spots. The team confirmed damage to the saplings and crops.