Land

Other Physical Changes

A. Increase in Salinity

Due to environmental degradation during the past decades salinity of the soil and of the water-table has increased in the lower reaches of the Mahanadi Delta. This has reduced the yield per hectare in the case of rice and pulses. It has also polluted the water-table by turning it brackish in the Balikud and Erasana blocks of Jagatsinghpur district and Mahakalapada, Ali and Raj Nagar blocks of Kendrapara district. The tidal water bring in salt water which is not completely flushed out during the ebb tide. The water has become brackish even in deep tube wells. If this problem is not tackled scientifically, it may create problem for drinking water in future.

B. Erosion of Kukitola Island

The cause of erosion is attributed to the break water embankment at Paradeep port. Another opinion is that this erosion is due to deforestation of the coastal forests.

C. Coastal Erosion

The coastal area is shrinking due to checking of silt in the Hirakud since 1956. It has also changed the course of the distributaries in the Mahanadi Delta. The area covered by tidal forest is also declining. As a result, floods and cyclones are becoming more frequent and more devastating.

6. Decline in Rainfall

Due to deforestation, rainfall has declined in the upper reaches of the Mahanadi. Deforestation of the hot wet tropical rain forests in Dandakaranya has most probably adversely affected rainfall in the Kalahandi plateau further westward.

7. Industrial Pollution

The discharge of industrial waste has polluted the water bodies and smoke from industrial establishments has polluted the air. The discharge of industrial waste by paper mill at Brajarajnagar and two others in Madhya Pradesh into the Mahanadi, has resulted in cracks in the Hirakud Dam due to increase in the alkalinity and salinity of the water at the dam site. Further if this water is used for irrigation, then it may effect the fertility of the soil. The limestone beds upstream of Hirakud have also added to the problem. The water of the Brahmani is highly polluted and its water is unfit for human consumption. 'Wet process' in the cement plant is highly air polluting. Fly ash from the Talcher thermal power station also pollute the air. Jayshree chemicals, located on the left bank of the Rushikilya estuary used to discharge its effluents into the river because of which its water was being polluted and becoming unfit for drinking purpose downstream. The foul smell of the paper mill at Chaudwar pollutes the air and the effect is felt in winter at Cuttack. Smoke emitted from Rourkela is also polluting the air.

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