The disposed of chicken stool and excrement from the poultry farm of Nabil Group in Gorgora village under Kakonhat Municipality of Godagari upazila is creating serious health hazards and polluting the environment of the surrounding areas.
Due to the obnoxious stench emitted from those rotten stools, not only the health of people living in the village is being threatened but the animals and birds of the surrounding lands and canal are also being affected badly. The disposed chicken stool and excrement are directly being dumped in the canal of the village. As a result, the water of the canal has turned unfit for use and lands beside the canal are also turning poisonous and unfit for cultivation.
Local people alleged that even after repeated requests and complaints, the authorities of the farm did not take any measure to check the pollution created due to dumping the excrement of poultry birds. They further said, earlier those disposed of materials were carried through trucks to some other places but now those are being dumped inside the canal and the surrounding areas at the dead night (1pm to 3pm).
Farmers of the village informed, the cultivation of crops in the surrounding lands of the dumping ground is being badly hampered. The water of the canal is not being possible to use in the fields. As a result, the farmers are facing problems in cultivating their crops. The people living in the houses of the village complained that they were keeping the doors and windows of their houses closed round the clock to get rid of the obnoxious stench. But, that was not the solution, even after closing the doors and windows, the stench is not being resisted. The elderly people and the children are suffering the most. Even, under this hot summer, it was not being possible to stay inside the rooms by closing the doors and windows. Many people were also suffering from various diseases including breathing problems, skin diseases and stomach ailments.
The problem of stench is not only limited to the Gorgora village but also the people of the neighbouring villages of Bilashi Khari, Bilashi village, Rishikul and other areas of Godagari. They are also suffering from the stench and the diseases from the disposed poultry stool and excrements.
Dr Shankar Kumar Biswas of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in this connection said that various air-borne diseases can be spread through air from the rotten poultry wastes which is risky for animals, birds and human beings. The environmental balance may also be damaged and the air would be polluted for a long time from those rotten wastes.
The authorities of Nabil Group have claimed they have signed a contract with a third party for the waste of material management.
Salam, General Manager of Nabil Farm informed, he was aware of the issue. He said, the responsibility of the Group is up to the gate of the farm and what is happening outside the farm should be supervised by the third party. He added, he has repeatedly told the third party authorities to solve the problem.
Belal Hossain, Deputy Manager of Nabil Group informed it is clearly mentioned in the contract form that the waste materials should not be disposed of in open ground. The third party has also assured them that they would obey the contract and not dispose the waste in open ground further.
Kabir Hossain, Assistant Director of the Department of Environment informed that he has received the complaint and issued a letter to the organisation. If the pollution continues, stern legal action will be taken against the violators of the contract, he added.
