By SANTOSH MOHANTY
Highly industrial districts like Sambalpur, Angul and Dhenkanal in Odisha have become hotspots for kidney ailments. The Veer Surendra Sai Institute Of Medical Sciences And Research(VIMSAR) in Sambalpur, which is catering to the healthcare facility of Western Odisha along with Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, has come out with a report that the number of patients suffering from kidney disease is on the rise. Such patients from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are also making a beeline to Sambalpur to get treatment at VIMSAR due its proximity with their states. According to VIMSAR, the dialysis of patients suffering from kidney complications, has recorded a three fold increase during 2020–2024. While statistics pointed out that one in twenty adults aged over 40 in Angul district suffered from chronic kidney disease (CKD) in 2024, the groundwater of nearly forty percent of the villages situated close to industrial concerns in Dhenkanal district is contaminated that triggers kidney related diseases. This statistics have been revealed by the public health department (PHD) recently.
The above mentioned districts of Sambalpur, Angul and Dhenkanal are mineral-rich with huge coal deposits and regarded as the power house of India generating electricity and supplying power to a number of states in India. The power behemoth National Thermal Power Corporations(NTPC) situated in Kaniha in Angul district is generating power from coal. The coalmines in Talcher, Kaniha and Chhendipada regions ensure raw material to the thermal power project. In addition to this, these districts houses National Aluminium Company(NALCO), Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) and a number of ancillary industries. The smoke belching chimneys of power plants have contaminated air and water of the region apart from producing high decibel sound inimical for human health. The Directorate of Health Services report of Odisha said that out of 5957 patients registered in the state in 2024, Sambalpur district alone has alone has a share of 1134, the highest in the state, followed by 1077 in Cuttack and 377 in Koraput districts. The report said Gajapati district has recorded 57 kidney patients, the lowest in Odisha. According to the report of Regional Research Laboratory in Bhubaneswar, the Mahanadi River basin area is known for being associated with kidney ailments with a large number of patients coming from Cuttack district. But, Sambalpur district has surpassed Cuttack recently, the report added.
Environmental Pollution:
The thermal power plants, aluminium smelters, steel factories and coal mines in Angul and Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts contribute to contamination of air and water following emission of effluents which contain radioactive elements dangerous for human health. The waste materials in the form of heavy metals, fly ash and other chemicals pollute air, water as well as soil. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board report in 2023 said groundwater samples collected from industrial regions like Talcher and Jharsuguda showed the presence of dangerous substances like lead, cadmium and other chemicals.
Ignorance
VIMSAR sources said villagers have little knowledge about the dreaded disease. They come to hospitals very late with most of them already reaching stage four or five. They ignore symptoms like fatigue and swelling and by time they consult doctors, it is too late for treatment. The physicians at VIMSAR emphasized that the priority should be given to awareness programmes mostly in rural regions of Odisha and particularly in Sambalpur-Angul-Dhenkanal belt to bring home the point that early detection can be beneficial and negligence will be fatal.
Global Trends:
The Central American states have been reporting Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) among sugarcane workers who work in comparatively hot and humid conditions. Exposure to pesticides and heat stress are often the contributory factors for such disease. We can compare this scenario with Odisha in its rural regions where field workers toil under similar climatic conditions. As Odisha’s industrial regions suffers from dumping of effluents and there is little effective management of coal ash and other pollution prevention regimen, the people in Ghana and Nigeria are also exposed to the similar environment where contamination of water in slums is horrible. Countries like France and Germany have the lowest CKD due to early detection. Medical practitioners in France are given incentives for conducting regular kidney function tests at different centres for those who are affected with diabetes and hypertension. Germany has strictest environmental laws where coal plants are required to recycle most part of their fly ash to get a zero liquid discharge certificate by the government.
The Central Government's initiative under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme for conduct of health camps and setting up of dialysis units in different regions have shown results. But, shortage of nephrologists, lack of early CKD detection and lack of awareness among people, particularly among rural populace, has put hindrances on the noble initiative, health experts maintained.
Call For Action:
Government must conduct water testing programmes in highly industrial
regions in Odisha along with mobile health units for early CKD detection in
rural areas where awareness level about the ailment is low. As part of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the industries in
Angul-Talcher-Dhenkanal and Sambalpur region must provide clean drinking water
facilities to the people and conduct nephrology camps at regular intervals for
early detection of the disease and subsequent medication. The services
of Accredited Social Health Activists(ASHAs) in India, who are female community
health workers acting as a bridge between community and public health system,
and the school teachers, should be roped in for conducting awareness campaigns
in the affected regions giving them proper advise to deal with the disease and early
detection of the ailment for possible treatment.
Odisha must learn from France and Germany with the emphasis on early detection of the ailment and stricter pollution control measures. The services of NGOs and other community based institutions in the country should be roped in to tackle such a menace. The NGOs must be encouraged to conduct nephrology camps to effectively control the spread of the disease.
Environmentalists in Angul and Dhenkanal districts are of the opinion that the spread of kidney related complications is not only a health crisis, but an ecological and human rights issue. They maintained that building medical colleges in Odisha will not solve the crisis, rather the government of the day must enforce strictest regulation for banishing environmental pollution. The environmentalists said the kidney crisis in Odisha needs urgent attention and this problem must be nipped in the bud before it poses a greater challenge to the administration and takes the form of a health disaster in a few years.
The patients suffering from kidney diseases should know that Dialysis is not a cure, but the patients will remain alive till a kidney transplant is done. The waste products are removed through Dialysis as the kidneys are no longer able to function properly and dialysis acting as an artificial replacement for lost kidneys.
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