For those who work on environmental issues, know how infamous the Korba district is, especially Korba town of Chhattisgarh state. The place, houses around 10 big coal based power plants, comprising more than 60 per cent of the capacity of entire state. More projects are in pipeline. Not a surprise that this industrial area is also designated as one of the critically polluted one in the country.
If you get a chance to visit the place, you see how miserable the life is. Residents neither have clean air to breathe nor clean water to drink. This is the cost the residents pay there for the dark electricity, which is even not available round-o-clock, other than the tariff that they to electricity supplier. The local media keeps writing on industrial pollution; everyday there is some reporting on this, but nothing has happen since last two decades. I do have visited the area and seen the un-wise rapid industrialisation and uncontrolled pollution, making everyone's life miserable there. It is still continued, since nothing has changed; neither in-sincere and misleading industries, non-responsive regulators or pitiable common public and so the media.
It was the occasion, I had been there for media briefing, precisely at Bilaspur 2-3 hours from Korba, on our recent report "Heat on Power" on environment performance and green rating of coal based power plants in India. The media briefing had called journalists across 6-7 states: Chhattisgarh, UP, MP, Jharkhand, Bihar, WB, Odisha etc. The idea was not just to share our findings but also train the journalist on reporting on environmental issues. Of course, there could not have been a better place other than Korba to see the industrial pollution.
After the briefing and training session, the journalists were taken to Korba for field visit to get some hands on experience of industrial pollution with a new perspective. Their experience was new and now research oriented. They were encouraged to write more with new and better approach; to connect more closely and correctly with the issues, impacts and solutions.
Some of their piece of writings where they quoted me are depicted here. Some are yet come.
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