Table 1. Details about Bhubaneswar
Modern civilization requires comforts in lieu of environmental destruction, especially due to urbanization. About 30% of the population of the country lives in crowded and densely populated cities. It is due to more employment opportunities, educational, medical, and infrastructural facilities available in the cities. Population densities, vehicle populations, cutting of trees, solid waste coming out of housing units, water quality, and so many other reasons have an impact on pollution in cities. The quality of life appears to be more strenuous and stressful. A case study on Bhubaneswar municipal corporation limits has been conducted and suggestions for improvement are given to avoid the catastrophe of environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the effect of the depletion of resources such as air, water, and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; and the extinction of wildlife. The environment is degraded when natural habitats are destroyed or natural resources are depleted. Environmental Change and Human Health, a special section of World Resources 1998–99 (WRI et al., 1998) describes how preventable illnesses and premature deaths are still occurring in very large numbers. If vast improvements are made in human health, millions of people will be living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In the under developed countries, an estimated 11 million children, or about one in five, will not live to see their fifth birthday, primarily due to environmental diseases. Child mortality is larger than the combined populations of Norway and Switzerland, and mostly due to malaria, acute respiratory infections, or diarrhoea, illnesses that are largely preventable. Environmental degradation is said to occur when the environment becomes less valuable or damaged. Environmental degradation has many forms. When habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost or natural resources are depleted, the environment is damaged. Environmental degradation can occur naturally or as a result of human activities. The largest areas of concern at present are the loss of rain forests, air pollution and smog, ozone depletion, and the destruction of the marine environment. The main objective of the present paper is to educate the public about the impact of modern civilization on environmental changes and the effect on the formation of various pollutants, with a case study on Bhubaneswar municipality.
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha is also known as “The City of Temples and Tanks” and 'The Cathedral City of India' (Naik, 2005). Bhubaneswar has been a place of religious and cultural efflorescence through the ages, and today the city reflects a unique harmony between th antiquity and urbanity (Thandar, 2012). On April 13, 1948, Bhubaneswar was declared the capital of Odisha after Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the new capital (Pradhan, 2013). Otto Königsberger, a German architect prepared the master plan for the city of Bhubaneswar in close proximity to the old temple town based on the concepts of neighborhood planning (Swami, 2014). Bhubaneswar once had about 7000 temples, shrines, and caves propagating the faiths of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Being the seat of Lord Lingaraj, Bhubaneswar is an important Hindu pilgrimage center. With the holy city of Puri and the Land of the Sun temple, Konark, it forms the apex of the famous "Golden Triangle", one of the most important tourist and pilgrimage destinations in India (VYMaps, n.d.).
Mahapatra (2004) conducted research on population growth. If 1901 is taken as the base year, the population of Orissa grew about 113 times during the first 70 years of the 20th century, whereas in the next 30 years it swelled by about 153 percent of the base population. Thus, speaking precisely, the 10 million people of Orissa in 1901 had become nearly 36 million at the time of the 2001 census, increasing at a faster rate of about 256 percent in a span of 100 years.
Appu (1996) argued that the programes of land reform implemented neither lead to a significant redistribution of land nor to the removal of all the obstacles to increasing agricultural production. The Abolition of Intermediary Interests was accomplished with reasonable efficiency, but Tenancy Reform and Ceilings on Agricultural Holdings achieved very little.
According to Maddox (n.d.), land is an important resource for the livelihood of people and their shelter. Revenue administration touches all social groups and stakeholders and is concerned with their problems. The activities of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department (R&DM), Government of Odisha are not merely confined to solving people's problems relating to land; these also include providing land to the landless and protecting government land.
According to a newspaper report (Praharaj, 2014), the Odisha State Pollution Control Board has identified 88 industries in Bhubaneswar, of which 16 pollute the air and 34 pollute both air and water
Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department (n. d.) reviewed the total pollution load from vehicles in Bhubaneswar city is 10.63 tons/day. Based on pollution load, considering the number of vehicles and the congested stretches, the road stretches of the city are categorized into 'highly polluted', "medium polluted" and "moderately polluted" (p.78).
FECCD (n.d.) states that the water requirements of Bhubaneswar are primarily met by the rivers Kuakhai, Daya, and spring tanks, as well as ground water sources (p. 85). The rivers Kuakhai and Daya are the major surface water sources. Both the rivers receive industrial and domestic discharges. The major sources of water pollution in Bhubaneswar city are industrial and domestic discharges. The discharges are through wastewater drains, overflow of the septic tanks, and oxidation ponds (p. 91). FECCD (n. d.) estimated that during one hour power break down in Bhubaneswar city, on an average 8,946 of Diesel Generator (DG) were used and the average usage of diesel was 16,115 liters per day and the quantity varied with different sectors (pp. 78-79).
The data on Bhubaneswar city, such as population, geographical location, and climate with the minimum and maximum levels have been tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1. Details about Bhubaneswar
According to 2011 census, the population of urban Bhubaneswar is 881,988 (Gaurav & Mishra, 2016). The population of the corporation area has grown from about 16,512 in 1951 to 647,302 in 2001 (Swami, 2014). Bhubaneswar has registered a decadal population growth rate of 0.59% during the period from 1991 to 2001. The corporation area has grown from 25.9 km2 in 1951 to 135 km2 in 2011. The total urban area is spread over 233 km2. The population trend between 1951 and 2011 is shown in Figure 1.
Figure1. Population Trend
The land uses and land cover of the city can broadly be classified as residential, commercial, industrial, administrative, institutional, and utility areas (including areas under roads, railways, and airports), green areas (including parks, open spaces, agricultural land, and vacant land), and water bodies (including rivers, canals, and other water bodies). Figure 2 depicts the land use and land cover pattern of Bhubaneswar in 1999. It provides a green belt, landscaping and greening up to 60% of the area, improving transportation and traffic systems, including road widening and improvement, pedestrian zones or parking facilities, signage, street furniture, and traffic management, installing urban design elements with appropriate streetlights, fountains, and sculptures. Urban renewal measures, including removal of encroachments improving storm water drainage and sewerage systems. Encouraging the usage of nonconventional energy and eco-friendly materials for construction purpose (FECCD, n.d., pp. 133-143).
Figure 2. Use and Land Cover Pattern of Bhubaneswar in 1999
Sudden afternoon storms are common in April and May. The average annual rain fall is 154 cm, most of which is received during June and October as shown in Figure 3. Bhubaneswar, well-known for its ancient temples, may very soon be identified as one of the hottest state capitals in the country. It became the hottest city in Odisha when the temperature touched 44.2 °C on March 23, 2021 (Suffian, 2021). This is the hottest-ever March in Bhubaneswar in the last five years. In 2005, the highest temperature on June 12 was 46.3 °C. It was 40.8 °C in 2006. But in 2007, 2008 and 2009, March was comparatively cool as the highest temperatures were 38.3, 38, and 39.4 °C, respectively. The temperature in Bhubaneswar on June 5, 2012 was 45.9 °C (Pradhan, 2012). Although situated in the eastern coastal plains, Bhubaneswar, Odisha's capital, experiences unbearable heat when the mercury touches 45 °C during April-May every year, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 3. Average Rainfall in Bhubaneswar City
Figure 4. Temperature in Bhubaneswar City
The degradation of Bhubaneswar is due to air, water, soil, the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wild life. Emissions of air pollution due to domestic, industrial, vehicles, DG sets, brick kilns, and stone crushers are affecting human life in the city. The emissions are classified as under and discussed in detail.
According to the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Odisha, the total consumption of various fuels in Bhubaneswar for domestic purpose is 124.22 tons/day. The breakup of various fuels are: coal 13.69 tons/day, wood 13.69 tons/day, cow dung 6.84 tons/day, kerosene 33 tons/day, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 57 tons/day (FECCD, n.d., p. 125). This use of fuel has emission of unwanted pollutants into the air.
In industrial sector, the consumptions of fire wood is 0.7 tons/day, coal is 16.4 tons/day, LPG 0.43 tons/day, Kerosene 0.33 kl/day. High Speed Diesel (HSD) 2.11 Kl/day, furnace oil 1.91 Kl/day totaling 594 tons/day (FECCD, n.d., p.73). The industrial sectors in Rasulgargh, Mancheswar, Chandaka and Bhagabanpur have constructed 350 industrial shed in an area of 384.28 acres (FECCD, n.d., p. 72). Emissions from these sectors are shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Data on Total Emission due to Various Components
The data according to vehicle census conducted in the year 2002 in Bhubaneswar has a total 205,258 vehicles. The breakup of the vehicles are: car and taxis 19,414 numbers, two wheelers 170,000 numbers, three wheelers 5,490 numbers, buses 949 numbers, heavy commercial vehicle 5,575 numbers, and light commercial vehicle 3,826 numbers (FECCD, n.d., p.76). The emissions from these vehicles are also included in Figure 5.
The Diesel Generators (DGs) used in Bhubaneswar has power ratings starting from 5 KVA to 800 KVA. For residential purpose 4,500 numbers of 5-10 KVA DGs consuming 9,000 liters of fuel were used; commercial establishments used about 4,000 numbers of 5-62 KVA DGs consuming 6,000 liters of fuel; industries used about 80 numbers of 5-625 KVA DGs consuming 200 liters of fuel; and 366 other generators of 5-800 KVA used in educational institutions, hospitals, etc., consumed 915 liters of fuel. In total, there are 8,946 DG sets consuming 16,115 liters of fuel and these emissions can also be seen in Figure 5 (FECCD, n.d., pp. 78-79).
The 25 brick kilns in Bhubaneswar produce around 10,000 to 25,000 bricks per day. It uses around 100-120 kg of coal as a fuel to produce 10,000 bricks. The approximate consumption of coal by brick kilns is 1750 ton/day (FECCD, n.d., p. 80). Burning of these coal also has emissions, which is included in Figure 5.
There are 19 stone crushers in the vicinity of Bhubaneswar, out of which 2 are large crushers producing more than 1000 tons of stone per day, 7 are medium type crushers producing 500 to 1,000 tons of stone per day, and 10 are small crushers producing less than 500 tons of stone per day. The crushing operation is classified as primary, secondary, tertiary, recrushing, and fine milling, and together in all these operations, stone production is 3,358 tons per day. In the process of crushing stones, suspended particulate matter (SPM) dispersed in the air is 1,869.73 tons/day (FECCD, n.d., pp. 81-84). SPM emission is also shown in Figure 5.
The human sources of water pollution are due to the following reasons.
In urban areas people use about 335 liters of water daily for different domestic purposes. About 70-80 percent of this water drains out to the nearby ponds, tanks or rivers through the drains or nalas of the municipality thereby pollute water. Municipal sewage is considered to be the main pollutant of water. Most of the sewage receives no treatment before discharge in all the cities of Odisha (Sahu et al., 2006).
The cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Berhampur generate approximately 10, 7.5,6, 3 and 5 lakh litres of sewage effluents respectively every day. These effluents are discharged into the river Mahanadi and Kathajodi in Cuttack, Kuakhai and Daya in Bhubaneswar, Brahmani in Rourkela, Mahabadi at Sambalpur and Rushikulya at Berhampur. The effluents contain heavy metals like lead, chromium, cadmium, zinc, mercury as well as harmful microbes like bacteria and virus (Sahu et al., 2006). The city of Bhubaneswar receives most of its water from the Kuakhi and Daya rivers, as well as from other sources such as spring reservoirs and groundwater sources. There are 88 industries and 2 industrial clusters, of which 34 are water pollution potential industries, which discharge their effluent into the drains. The entire city has not been covered with surface water drains. The drains cover an area of about 103.43 km2 with a drainage length of 37.18 km (FECCD, n.d., p. 91).
Gangua Nallah which finally meets river Daya serves as the ultimate for the wastewater discharges of Bhubaneswar city. River Kuakhai and Gangua receive about 107.25 Minimal Liquid Discharge (MLD) of wastewater within the city of which 47.6 MLD is from domestic sources, and 29.3 MLD from industrial areas (mainly from Patia and Chandaka industrial estate) and 30.35 MLD from mixed sources. The wastewater discharged into Kuakhai and Daya rivers from various drains and the pollution load carried by them. The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) discharged through these drains is 100.64 tons/day and that of solids is 127 tons/day. The major contributor to the water pollution for BOD load is from the Patia drain followed by Sainik school. These effluents discharge both domestic and industrial wastewater from densely populated areas of the old city (FECCD, n.d., pp.91-93). The quality of wastewater discharged from different areas of the city in milligrams per liter is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Waste Water from Densely Populated City Areas
As per 2001 census population of Bhubaneswar city is 6.57 lakhs (Karmakar et al., 2011). The designed population has been worked out By 2031, the estimated population is calculated to 16.9 lakhs. For this estimated population, the total water requirement at 150 liters per capita per day (LPCD) would be 253 MLD. Considering that 80% of the total water supply would be discharged as sewage, 202.45 MLD will need to be collected and treated. The total BOD load discharged from the drains is 100.64 tons/day out of which, 47.6 MLD is from domestic sources, 29.3 MLD from industrial areas and 30.35 MLD from mixed sources (FECCD, n.d., p.93).
At present, only the main city district has sewerage system. Several areas in the city are not covered by the sewerage system, and these areas are severely affected due to the stagnation of sewage on the roads and open plots adjoining the building blocks. Open drains carrying sewage across the city pose a severe threat to health in addition to causing the nuisance of bad odour and overflow during the monsoon period.
In the absence of a sewerage system, people are using septic tanks and soak pits. In most places, sewage is discharged into open drains without any treatment, which ultimately discharges into Gangua Nallah. In its course of 12 km in the city of Bhubaneswar, the Gangua Nallah receives wastewater discharges from nine drains. The river Kuakhai receives about 27.22 tons/day of wastewater from the Patia drain.
The old sewerage system is prone to frequent choking of sewerage lines, leading to overflow of sewage into roads and creating poot sanitary conditions. Lack of periodic maintenance and renovation of the old sewerage system is yet another problem.
The existing water quality in the river Kuakhai is "acceptable." Over the last year, the trends show that the water quality has deteriorated from the "excellent" category to the "desirable" category at the upstream of Bhubaneswar. But due to the discharges from the city, the water quality has deteriorated, although not alarming (FECCD, n.d., p. 97). However, recommended water quality in the river Kuakhai by FECCD (n.d., p. 95) is given in Table 2.
Table 2. Water Quality Criteria (FECCD, n.d., p. 95)
Three decade back, the Chandaka jungle area in the Bhubaneshwar Corporation had a lot of teak trees. The trees were cut down by the locals for commercial purposes, losing the beauty of the city, and now it can be said that the jungle has disappeared. Of course, this has a negative impact on the environment. This is environmental degradation
More than five hundred large and old trees have been cut by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the expansion of national highway joining Bhubaneswar to Puri from NH 203.
For expansion of a 4-way lane from aerodrome to Nandankanan Wild Life Sanctuary, more than 400 trees had been cut down. For the urbanization and development of Bhubaneswar several trees have been sacrificed. Many a trees have been cut for expansion of road from Pokhariput to Khandagiri square and for the construction of new highway to connect Bhubaneswar-Puri highway with the Fire Station Square in Bhubaneswar. For new housing projects to build 17,000 houses and apartments in various parts of Bhubaneswar such as Khandagiri, Gatikia, Pohariput, Kalinga Nagar, near Bhuasuni temple, many trees have been bulldozed. For last 5 years, the temperatures of Bhubaneswar is maintaining near and above 45 0C (Beuria, 2009; Odishabytes, 2021). It becomes impossible to walk in the street between 10.30 AM and 4 PM between mid April to end of June, and during this period schools and collages remain closed. One cannot sleep at night due to the heat radiation for the neighboring buildings. Every year, hundreds of people die due to heat waves. However, the government maintains a low figure of deaths due to heat waves or sun stroke. But, so far, the government of Odisha is not at all seriously acting to control the rise in temperature and the deaths that occur every year due to extreme heat. The government only comes up with loud announcements of measures like the distribution of water in public places and lots of advice for people on what to do to beat the heat in summer. They are only a few temporary relief measures, but long-term steps are required to minimize the discomfort that nature causes to the people of Odisha in the summer.
Environmentalists believe that one of the major reasons behind this unprecedented rise in temperature is the wanton cutting of trees. However, in Odisha, trees seem to have become the biggest enemies of both government agencies and the common folk. While there are several instances of government bodies cutting down trees in the name of development activities like widening of roads or construction of a bridge, the common man is destroying the city's green lungs even for unnecessary purposes like road blockades and protests. As Bhubaneswar expands as a city and developing in all sectors, progress has emerged as an instrument of destruction. According to the city forest division, around 4,000 trees have been cut down in the last five years to widen roads in different areas of the town. Unfortunately, most of these trees were 25 to 40 years old. Around 1,088 roadside trees, huge in size, were chopped off in 2005, and the numbers of such ill-fated trees were 271, 57, and 399 respectively, in 2007, 2008, and 2009. And in the first three months of 2022, over 689 trees have vanished. The latest report says that about 8,100 trees will be cut down in the National Highway expansion from Bhubaneswar to Puri. A fully grown banyan tree can provide the cooling power of two thousand air conditioners. The ecological value of a full-grown tree alone could be estimated at about Rupees 50 to 100 lakhs in terms of money, when all these ecosystem services are taken into account.
Bharatpur Reserve Forest, spread over 1,200 acres, is located in the north-west part of the city. This is popularly known for its Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary and Nandankanan Zoological Park. Located at about 20 km from Bhubaneswar, Chandaka forest was declared a wildlife sanctuary in August 1982. The floral diversity is divided into 6 types, namely, secondary wet mixed semi-evergreen forests, Kangada wet forests (Xylia xylocarpa), coastal salt forests, thorny bamboo slats (Banusa bambo), planted teak and Eupatorium shrub. Nandankanan includes a botanical garden, a zoo, famous for white tiger and lion safaris. It is home to over 67 varieties of mammals, 18 varieties of reptiles, and 81 species of birds. The zoo enjoys a place of pride internationally for the successful breeding of black panthers, gharials and white tigers in captivity. The Government of Odisha, under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister SJ Nabin Patnaik has decided recently to make Bhubaneswar a Green Capital in the country.
It is decided that the vicinity of Bhubaneswar, about 2.45 lacs of plants will be planted and 1.5 lacs of plantations will be carried out in Chandaka area. In the next 5 years, 10 lakhs hectares of new jungles will be created in Odisha. 35,000 plants will be planted in 38 roadsides by different corporate bodies of Bhubaneswar. In addition, it is decided that a huge number of plantations will be carried out in newly established colonies in Bhubaneswar. The promotional slogan for Bhubaneswar are, "Spread the Green, Save the Planet" and "Go Green is the resolve to infect the whole of Bhubaneswar with the will to change towards a greener future", through "Take a Pledge and Plant a Sapling" campaign.
The following conclusions are drawn from this study. There will be urbanization and industrialization, but instead of degradation, the environment should be kept friendly. To do this, the growing of a huge number trees is the most useful solution. It is said that "trees hold the world together".
To reduce air pollution, vehicles should use lead-free petrol, and ultra-low emission vehicles should be plied. The vehicles may be bio-diesel or electrically powered. The Euro-IV should strictly adhere to the stone crushers' and brick kilns' distance from the city.
Industrial effluences should not be let into the river. They should be recycled and filtered before being released.
“If the world is saved, it will be saved by people with changed minds and people with new visions. It will not be saved by people with old minds and new programs. It will not be saved by people with old visions, but by a new programme," said Daniel Quinn.
"Nature has enough to satisfy everyone's need, but not enough to satisfy the majority's greed”, Mahatma Gandhi said.
Gluttony and ego have made man disregard the warnings of nature and are calling for the destruction of self.
Actually, man, God and nature are correlated with each other for their peaceful coexistence. Man should respect nature and the ecosystem, because they provide the living, food, fodder, fuel, and oxygen. If they disobey, they have to face the consequences and severity of nature in the form of floods, earth quakes and excessive heat.
The authors wish to thank Dr. Madhumita Parida, Chairman, Aryan Institute of Engineering & Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, for her encouragement and forwarding this technical paper for publication.