Bhubaneswar, July 6 -- Rampant encroachment, indiscriminate waste dumping and prolonged administrative neglect have pushed the Mahanadi river and its tributary, the Gobari, into severe ecological decline in Odisha's Kendrapara district, environmental experts and activists alleged at a district-level consultation held here today.
The consultation, titled "Mahanadi - Life of Margins", was organised by the Centre for Justice and Equality, Bhubaneswar, in association with Janamangal Mahila Samiti, Puri.
Speakers alleged that influential persons had encroached upon riverbeds and adjoining land for construction, significantly reducing the width of the rivers at several places. Unchecked dumping of waste and excessive growth of aquatic weeds hav...