Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has reportedly registered a complaint over the degradation of Jagannath Sagar, the largest man-made pond in Odisha located at Jeypore in Koraput district, due to encroachment and pollution.
The Commission registered the complaint filed by advocate and rights activist Anup Kumar Patro, classifying the ‘citizens of Jeypore town’ as ‘victim’ under the ‘pollution/ecology/environment’ category, reports said.
In the petitioner expected the inclusion of Jagannath Sagar under the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) as it has been degraded heavily due to pollution from the disposal of untreated local sewage, TNIE reported.
It may be noted here that Jagannath Sagar was dug up on a patch of 300 acres by the then kings of Jeypore in 1761 to maintain environmental balance and meet the water requirements of the people of both Koraput and Nabarangpur districts. It was accorded a tourist destination tag by the British a few years later. The pond has now been reduced to nearly 159 acres.
The petitioner stated that the Ministry of Environment and Forests has been implementing the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) since 2001 to conserve and manage polluted and degraded lakes in urban and semi-urban areas.
The state government, is however, yet to give due importance to including Jagannath Sagar in the category of urban lake in India though it is much larger than Bindu Sagar in Bhubaneswar.
Apart from being a source of water supply for the local municipality, Jagannath Sagar also helps in replenishing groundwater level as an essential receptor for groundwater recharge, positively influencing water quality of downstream watercourses and preserving the biodiversity and habitat of the surrounding area, the complaint contended.
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