HYDERABAD: The claims of effective pollution control by Telangana State Pollution Control Board at the Industrial Development Area, Kazipally is proving to be a sham. The IDA, which houses several
pharma companies, is also home to the Treatment Storage Disposal Facility for hazardous waste. One grave violation found by Express is letting out of the effluents by pharmaceutical companies directly into the open without treating it.
Channels made of cement carry effluents from various pharma companies into an open tank in the IDA,
which then lets the effluents flow through a muddy channel into the surrounding open area. Yellow deposits can be seen on the rocks around this channel, indicative of the sulphur that is used in the pharma companies.
Not surprisingly, Swedish researchers had earlier found over 80 antibiotics-resistant gene types among bacteria in the Kazipally lake.
Stench from pharma companies
People living in villages around IDA Kazipally have to bear with the stench of chemicals coming from the various pharmaceutical companies. The stench usually spreads till 2-3 km radius in the afternoon and by evening, spreads as far as about 8 km till Dundigul cross roads.
The stench itself is an indicator that pollution control norms are not being followed in the pharma companies at the IDA. Owners of the pharmaceutical plants do not let gases, which are emitted through various chemical processes, pass through condenser which separates toxic elements from the gas, as
it is a time consuming process. Instead, condenser is kept open and toxic gases pass directly into the
environment.
Story of Gaddapotharam One of the most affected villages due to the stench is Gaddapotharam. Madhavi Latha, a resident, says: “The companies have made our life hell. Due to the stench we cannot sit outside with our kids in the evening. Sometimes the stench is so bad that we have to cover our faces inside our homes as well. Health problems like joint pains, fatigue, breathing problems, greying of hair and skin rashes are common.” Dev Singh, a resident of Gagillapur Thanda located near the entrance of IDA says, “It has been decades that we have been bearing with the stench.
Few children died due to diseases. When we complain, the TSPCB officials visit, conduct tests and go back without offering any solution. It seems this has become a ritual now.”
Lack of health facility Despite the toxic gases mixing openly in the atmosphere here, the area does not have any Primary Healthcare Centre in close proximity. Speaking to villagers revealed that they travel over 10 km to avail treatment at private hospitals.
Medical camps conducted once in a few months by the pharmaceutical companies are looked upon as a joke by the villagers. Even at the camps the villagers say that doctors do not diagnose them properly.