Karnataka woman blocks tanker from dumping effluents, saves storm drain

The woman alleged that the nearby factories and tanker operators were responsible for the act while the police looked the other way.
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

BENGALURU: Daily commute on a stretch near Nayandahalli made a 38-year-old woman stumble on a tanker discharging water mixed with chemicals into a Raja Kaluve (stormwater drain) there. And her relentless efforts have led to the arrest of the tanker driver eventually.

She alleged that the nearby factories and tanker operators were responsible for this while the police looked the other way.

B Revathi Raj, founder president of Bheemaputri Brigade (Mahila Sanghatane), in her complaint to the police, said that every time she commuted on Mysore Road, she used to be hit by a foul smell.

Enquiries with Metro workers and people there revealed that tankers would come and discharge water laced with chemicals into the drain. This was in the last week of June.

Revathi and her team kept a vigil at that place for two to three days but didn’t spot any tanker. Their vigil finally paid off — on July 5, around 3.30 am, they spotted a tanker and followed it to find that the driver was letting out the contaminated water through a pipe into the drain. On noticing them, the tanker driver managed to flee leaving the vehicle behind. Her team then seized the tanker.

She said each tanker has a capacity of 12,000 litres and every night around 15 to 16 tankers would let out the effluents into the storm drain.

Revathi made a video of the incident and alerted the police. Policemen from Jnana Bharathi police station and Annapoorneswari Nagar who went to the spot told her that the area didn’t come under their jurisdiction.

By that time Byatarayanapura police too landed there and asked Revathi why she had not informed them about the tanker and why she seized it.

They also barred people from videographing it. But by then Revathi had already made the video.

She later went to the police station and lodged a complaint.

The policemen on duty told her that they would register an FIR only the next morning as they didn’t know under what sections they had to file the case.

“I got a call from Byatarayanapura police the next morning asking me to come to the station. When I reached there the cops said there was no water in the lorry and the tyres too were punctured. I warned them that I have made the video and I will take it to the higher-ups if they didn’t register the FIR. It was only after that they took the case,” Revathi said.

Tanker driver arrested

An investigating officer from Byatarayanapura station police said, “We have arrested the tanker driver Krishna. He confessed that the water mixed with chemicals was from factories in Peenya Industrial area. He said that they used to let out the water at a different spot. It was only on July 5 that he went to the Nayandahalli area. The lorry has Maharashtra registration number. The investigation is on.”

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The New Indian Express
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