Betel leaf farmers bear brunt of pollution in K’para

KENDRAPARA:  Industrial pollution has emerged as a major cause of concern for betel leaf farmers of the seaside villages of Mahakalapada block in Kendrapara district.The farmers are in a fix as betel leaves, affected by smoke emanating from factories situated at nearby Paradip, have no takers in the market. “Our betel vineyards are bearing the brunt of air pollution.  The betel leaves have turned black as a result of which businessmen do not buy our produce”,  said Madhusudan Sahoo, a betel farmer of Jamboo village under Mahakalapada block.

Nagendra Mandal, a betel leaf farmer of Kandarapatia village, said, “Around 400 betel vineyards owned by 500 farmers are bearing the brunt of air pollution in the area”, he said, adding recently the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) was urged to act against the factories but in vain.

Mahesh Mahalingam, regional officer of OSPCB, Paradip, said  sulphur gas released in the air by some industrial units in Paradip may be the reason behind the damage to the betel leaves. “We will soon test samples of the damaged leaves at our laboratory in Bhubaneswar”, he said.