The sustained call to prevent alarming rise of pollution in the industry-and-mines-rich Talcher seems to fall into deaf ears. No doubt the State and the Central Governments are cornering crores of rupees as profit from mining and mining-related works in the region but are they really concerned about the rising dust, ash, filth, smoke, heat, pollution and depleting forest cover of the area? While those living in the dust city are used to choking of their nostrils, the steady decline of one of the longest and densest forests here and the long delay in implementation of the schemes to protect it have galled many.
Rani Park, the dense 700-acre-long forest near the old palace of the king of Talcher, has little hope of being restored. Earlier the forest was under the ownership and care of the erstwhile king and sprawling beauty of the park used to look like a paradise on Earth. The sanctuary provided home to many wild animals and birds. The fall of monarchy and the growth of mines and industries and development of townships led to large-scale felling of trees and even illegal occupation of its land mass. Its erstwhile boundary was broken and costly trees were smuggled off scot-free. Human intervention was so much that this sanctuary lost its lustre and shrank in size.
“The park played a major role in maintaining the eco-system of the otherwise highly polluted area. Being near the Brahmani river, the forest was the home to several wildlife. But rapid industrialisation and mining works cast their shadow on them. Trees were cut in large numbers and the wild animals perished or migrated to other places. Even these days some unscrupulous people are cutting the trees and collecting brambles and twigs and selling them off to the brick kiln owners for firewood. The need of the hour is to construct the boundary of the park, plant new trees, save the existing ones and restore the four earth-filled deserted ponds inside,” rued a local.
The Forest Department had taken a welcome move in revivify the park with new plants in the rainy season this year. The DFO of Angul had embarked on a large scale afforestation initiative and a large number of saplings were planted. Temporary hedging of the park was also made but those saplings are awaiting death in the want of water and proper care. The four ponds inside the park are now filled with earth and look miserable. In the coming summer, it is a fact that the galloping heat and shortage of water in Talcher will prove a death blow to the entire plantation project inside the park.
It is high time Talcher’s forested area needs to be protected. Already the Brahmani river — the lone source of water for the inhabitants of Angul NAC, Talcher Municipality, half a dozen of industrial townships and hundreds of villages by the river side — has been held hostage to vacuous and rampant release of untreated and partly-treated effluents by the factories. Air pollution and traffic congestion in the region is now unbearable. Imediate steps to revive and protect the Rani Park are need of the the hour, the largest forest area close to the town would provide a protective shield from pollution and related problems.
