Bhubaneswar, Odisha : In a significant environmental protest, a group of activists campaigning under “Save Military School & Remove Alia Yard” today met the Member Secretary of the Odisha Pollution Control Board (OPCB), urging immediate action against an illegal Alia dumping yard operating within the Military School campus.
The delegation warned that if authorities fail to act by September 1, 2025, they will surround the Pollution Board office in protest. The illegal yard, operational since 2002, has persisted due to administrative inaction, posing serious health and environmental risks to thousands of residents in Bhubaneswar.
“We cannot allow illegal dumping to endanger public health. Immediate closure is non-negotiable,” said Vikash Tripathi, lead coordinator of the campaign.
The yard handles waste from a temporary transfer station (TTS), processing around 510 metric tons of waste daily, including illegal Alia dumping. Despite repeated complaints, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allowed operations without SEIAA approval or compliance with environmental regulations.
Legal petitions have been submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata, and the High Court, highlighting long-standing negligence.
Key Demands :
- Immediate cessation of Alia processing.
- BMC to apply for SEIAA approval.
- Compliance with CTE conditions and CTO applications.
- Impose fines on BMC (2002–2025) and compensate affected locals.
- Clean all Alia waste from Military School TTS.
- Remove dry Alia processing machines from TTS.
The delegation included Basudev Bhatt, Prasanna Bishoyi, Ashok Paikaray, Dilip Das Sharma, Chintamani Barik, Shankarshan Barik, Ashutosh Mishra, Sandeep Das, Sachitra Patra, Jaysurya Kanungo, Amiya Sharma, among others.
Activists emphasized that inaction by authorities has allowed illegal dumping to continue for over two decades, endangering public health. They urged urgent enforcement of environmental laws, warning that failure to act will trigger a major protest on September 1 at the OPCB office.
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