Industrial complex around Korba face acute environmental pollution. Disposal of industrial, mine waste and domestic: refuse need coordinated.approach for evolving a sewage network controlled by local drainage system and geologic constraints. Utilisation of abandoned coal mines for waste disposal, sewage treatment and storage of water can provide viable economic return besides improving pollution problem.
The Korba town, in an area of approximately 200 sq Jon locates four major industrial complex - such as thermal, alluminium, explosive and fertilizer factories besides an upcoming super thermal power station. The colonies are situated aouth of the industrial plants. The urban and industrial planning of the region, with the growing popUlation to about one million in the near future, calls for a sustained effort in tac:kling the problems relating to base water supply, atmospheric and aquatic pollution and disposal of industrial waste/domestic refuse. The present paper deals with the disposal of waste material in the available underground space.
The landscape around Korba is characterised by low, isolated hills and near flat crest lines with. general rising elevation from south to north. The isolated hills are aligned in E-lf direction with local deviation to NNE-SSW and NE-SWdirections and range in altitude from 274.32 m tg 304.8 m. The isolated hill s have a fairly steep rocky slope of about 50 to 70 and project out as ‘tors’ while the low ground slopes from 5 to 10. The principal drainage- river Hasdo, is aligned in N-S direction and drains mainly through a sedimentary area. The other major tributaries - Belgari and Dhengurnalas have a general ENE-WSW to E-W flow direction on the left bank of Hasdo while on the right bank, the Ahiran nala flows in NW-SE to WNW-ESE direction. The softer sedimentaries control the drainage pattern which is subparallel to subdendritic. The low undulating hills, occupied by clastic and ancient crystalline rocks form the denudation tract while the fan/talus, piedmount/slope wash and the terraces are some of the characteristic fluvial deposits. The valley form is V-shaped at the head reaches while it is flat bottom and rectangular in the main body section of the. streams/rivers, with 2–3 m high steep bank, sloping about 70° -80° to vertical. Banks of Hasdo and its tributaries like Ahiran, Belgari and Dhengur show evidences of mass wasting in the form of debris slip, erosion scar and land subsidence due to soft and erodible clastic rock. The sandstone is soft, friable, arkosic and granular,med1um to coarse grained with hiqh percentage of felspar. The perviousness of sandstone is indicated by porosity to about 15% and due to the presence of erosion channel and cavities. Large quantities of groundwater in the porespaces make the sandstone a good confined and unconfined aquifer due to interlayering with shale. The granite is medium to coarse grained with large size felspar. Physical and chemical weathering of granitic rock is less active on the protuding hills rot are erratic and intense on surfaces in the process of exhumation. This weathered zone, controlled by topography, has limited ground water.
