Two minor girls succumbed to drowning due to the construction of an illegal diversion weir on Nagavali river bed by JK Paper Mills: Needs to adhere to minimum safety standards

Rayagada, (Badal Tah): In a tragic incident, two minor girls named Anuska Abdul (12) and Hemadei Suna (9) of Sana Chandili village succumbed to drowning in Nagavali river near the pump house of JK Paper Mills(JKPM). These tiny tots came with their family members to take a bath on the third day of the funeral ceremony of one of their relatives. They slipped into the huge 30 feet deep sinkhole due to torrential flow created by an illegal barrier put up by JKPM and died. The Fire Deptt rescued the 1st corpse alongwith local youths’ help with great difficulty. The second one was not traceable. Ultimately the firemen had to dive with oxygen cylinders and recover the body from the scary-looking river bed. Grief-stricken locals and relatives of the minor deceased girls said that JK Company was squarely responsible for these deaths.
 
The company is drawing water by diverting the river flow to its pump house by illegally constructing a diversion weir/check dam where huge sand bags and stones are being used. In 2012, Adibasi Mahasangha, an apex level tribal outfit of the district, got enraged regarding the highhandedness of the Company, went to the spot and demolished the said illegal structure. There was a spill of silence for a few days and JKPM again reconstructed the same illegal structure, which is continuing at the spot till date. During the fag end of the year 2019, expert engineers from the Minor Irrigation Deptt of Govt of Odisha jointly investigated the matter on the allegation of an activist named Rabindra Patakhandal and found the allegation true. But no action has been taken to date.
 
Additional District Magistrate Bhaskar Raita said that the matter had been handed over to Rayagada Tehsildar for investigation. After the inquiry, irregularities will be rectified and the families of the two children who lost their lives in this incident will be provided government assistance, said Raita.
 
On the basis of quantity of hazardous chemicals handled being excess of the threshold quantities specified in the Chemical Accidents(Emergency Planning, Preparedness) Rules-1996 & in pursuance of the Odisha Factories(Control of Major Accident Hazard) Rules-2001, JKPM Company has been declared as MAH(Major Accident Hazard) Installation by Factory & Boilers deptt, Govt of Odisha vide its office order no-2378 dated 6-8-2022. Out of 45 hazardous industries in the state, this is the only industry declared as hazardous in Rayagada district by the State Govt. Unfortunately, National Safety Week is being celebrated in JK where local officials Factory & Boilers deptt attend the celebration, pat JK authorities and do not even discuss the potential hazards faced by the people of Rayagada. 
 
Activists of a rights-based organisation named Society for Fast Justice(SFFJ), Rayagada started exploring the legal authenticity of an industry constructing a structure on the river bed to divert and draw water by interrupting the flow of water to the Nagavali river apart from raising serious safety concerns at the environmentally sensitive area. Though it is learnt that there should be an agreement on water between JKPM and the Executive Engineer, Water Resource Deptt stationed at EE, Harabhangi Irrigation Division-III, Gajapati district, to the utter dismay of the activists nothing is available in Rayagada district. The company is flouting norms & notifications enshrined in Odisha Irrigation Act-1959, Odisha Irrigation Rules-1961(Amended from time to time), Odisha State Water Policy-2007, National Water Policy-2012, permission on allocation of groundwater for domestic use, installation of water meters, Flow meter, contribution to the water conservation fund, etc. SFFJ, a civic body of Rayagada is already in the process of approaching monitoring authorities like NGT, Central and State Pollution Control Board, Dept of Water Resources, GoO, Central Ground Water Board(CGWB) & others including Collector, Rayagada & RDC, Brahmapur.