SAMBALPUR: Even as the cause of death of saplings in Hirakud Command Area is being debated, former MP of Sambalpur, Bhabani Hota said extreme pollution levels in water and toxicity could be a reason. Hota told medipersons on Thursday that according to a study of Sambalpur University in the 90’s, massive toxic effluents were being released into the reservoir by industries upstream. These effluents had high content of lead and mercury which ultimately found their way into the agricultural fields through water discharged in the canal system, he added.