Hyderabad: In the last 24 hours, an acrid and foul smell engulfed the air at Dha-raninagar, Uttamnagar, Vaninagar and Anand-bagh, all the way up to Neredmet. Residents say this is not something new, as it occurs once every fortnight to up to once in 20 days.
The unbearable smell of rotting molasses, coupled with a stench of animal carcasses, wafts through the air, forcing residents to not step out of their homes. They are worried and check their premises to see if there has been a death of a stray animal in their immediate vicinity.
“The stench lasts for about an hour and then fades away. But as long as the smell lasts, it is difficult for us to stay indoors. Visitors to our homes from other areas always complain that it is a suffocating smell. We can’t invite guests guests because of this smell,” said Mr K. Raghavendra Rao, a resident of Uttamnagar.
Another resident, Mr Sai Kumar, says that the stench that usually lasts close to an hour and bec-omes stronger when the-re is an accompanying wind in the area. “Some-times the stench goes all the way up to Neredmet, which is three kilometres away,” Mr Kumar said.
Residents say they suspect the smell is coming from nearby factories at Moula Ali or from a distillery near Malkajgiri.
However, the residents have not yet lodged an official complaint with either the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB), as they are unaware of the origin of the smell.
“We do not have any garbage dump close to our colony. We don’t know where the smell is coming from,” said Mr Rama Krishna, a resident of Saikrishnanagar Colony.
While the origin of the stench is under dispute, resident associations are not sure how they can take it up with authorities when the cause of the intensely foul smell is not clear.
With the Jawaharnagar dump yard about 10 kilometre away, there is a possibility that the smell might be emanating from there, and due to wind movement, reaching a distant location.
Between November to February, residents of Sainkpuri, Defence Colony, ECIL, A.S. Rao Nagar and Yapral complain of a foul smell from the Jawaharnagar dump yard. But during the rainy season, the emergence of this smell has become a cause of concern for the residents who do not know where it is coming from.
“Since the distillery uses molasses to drain spirit, I suspect it might be the rotting molasses that are causing the smell,” said Mr Y. Reddy, resident.
Another resident of RK Nagar Colony, K. Govind Narayan, said, “The smell started this Saturday from 9 pm onwards. It became difficult to sleep. Those who are sensitive are not able to bear the stench and it causes headaches.”
With the origin being a mystery, residents are contacting each other to find out the source of the smell so that they can tell the authorities about it and tackle the menace.
