Himalayan News Service

Rupandehi, February 2:

Dano river has became polluted due to industrial effluents being dumped into it. As a result, in the surrounding Marchawar region which is considered the crop basket of Rupandehi, animal husbandry and agriculture have been badly affected.

The river serves as the main source of drinking water and irrigation for the people of the region. Two big industries, Reliance Paper Mill and Triveni Distillery, dump their non-distilled industrial effluents directly into the river, locals said.

According to the district agriculture office, the southern parts of the district in Marchawar — Kamhariya, Bhagswanpur, Betkuiya, Majhgawa, Jogeda, Farena, Bairghat, Sipawa, Semara, Bohadi, Thumuwa, Paparhawa and Roinihawa VDCs — are affected.

Following requests from long-suffering locals to the administration, agriculture development office and environmental NGOs to initiate relief measures, a research team was formed led by the agriculture development officer.

The team reported after a detailed study that the industries are flushing chemicals and acids, dangerously above the permissible limits fixed by the environment conservation act, into the river, into the river and the water had turned black as a result.

The stench from the river is such that people clap their hands over their noses while passing by. Even a whiff of air drifting from the riverside is unbearable. Cattle fall prey to various ailments if they drink from the river. The soil in the region has declined in productivity.

Those daring to bathe in the river contract various skin diseases and clothes get discoloured after washing there, the report said.

If the river’s water is used for irrigation purposes, plants dry up. Crops fail, the yield declines drastically. “I don’t let my cattle drinking from the river as it contains industrial foam and smells so foul,” said a farmer, Lal Londh. Another farmer of Kamhariya VDC-9, Raj Mangal Londh, said, “Crops are damaged due to hardening of the soil. Now, I am worried about my cattle.” The Marchawar uplift irrigation project is running from the same river for irrigating 4,400 hectares of land. Pump sets are also affected as the river water is full of garbage and plastics, farmers grumbled.

The river also used to be a watering spot for birds from Lumbini’s forest areas. Near-extinct birds like cranes are changing their nesting sites from the bird sanctuary in Lumbini due to water pollution. “We have repeatedly drawn the attention of the local administration to the pollution caused by these industries, but to no avail,” said Narayan Sapkota, former chairman of Volunteers for Save the Environment Campaign in Rupandehi.