Chemical Tanker Caught Dumping Hazardous Waste into Musi River

 Hyderabad: A chemical tanker, belonging to a pharmaceutical company, was caught dumping hazardous waste into the Musi River through an specially designed pipeline, near Bapu Ghat in Langer Houz. The tanker was boldly labelled ‘Hydrochloric Acid’.

The incident unfolded in the wee hours of Tuesday. On noticing the tanker, residents rushed to the spot and found the driver unloading chemical effluents through a manhole leading directly to the river.

They detained the tanker, the driver and the helper, and called the police who took them into custody.

Rajendranagar police station house officer K. Kastro told Deccan Chronicle that the driver and the cleaner, Devdas and Venkatesh, had been served notices.

A senior police officer said “Venkatesh is a truck driver from Sreenivasa Labs, a pharmaceuticals company from Pashamylaram. The company asked Venkatesh to take the tanker filled with chemical waste to Raghavendra Chemicals in Vikarabad.”

“Instead, Venkatesh took the tanker to Bapu Ghat and dump the chemicals. He had taken the land on lease, and dug the pipeline himself. We’re still investigating if Sreenivasa Labs had a role in the dumping,” the officer said, adding that they also seized an earthmover which was used to remove the debris from the spot.

Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB), assigned to oversee the processing of chemical waste from industries, did not respond to any of Deccan Chronicle’s attempts to contact them.