Location of polluting activity:
Channasandra stream-turned open wastewater drain, is a tributary stream of Vrishabhavati river, that flows alongside Sri Krishna Gardens in RajaRajeshwarinagar as can be seen in the map.
The story so far:
The residents of Krishna Gardens apartment complex and other homes have been waking up to the pungent chemical smell, causing headaches, nausea, tiredness, breathing difficulties and other maladies. This pervasive pungent chemical smell is the result of toxic industrial effluents dumped into the stream-turned drain supposedly by tankers, in the wee hours. “The smell is so bad we find it difficult to breathe the air, sometimes”, say the residents in a letter to the local MLA.
We understood why it was making the residents sick when we (BET) inspected pollution control board's tanker files under RTI. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) -an indicator of chemical pollution, of the effluent sludge dumped is greater than 60,000 Mg/L. Compare that with COD of 25 Mg/L, above which rivers are considered to be polluted. The report also shows presence of heavy metals way beyond permissible limits. This is toxic hazardous waste. Each dump is like a 'mini Bhopal', making residents sicker and sicker.
Additionally, the toxic dumps also change the colour of the stream and subsequently the river. “One day black, another day yellow, and some other day turquoise blue; the various hues of the Vrishabhavathi river do not paint a pretty picture. On the contrary, each new colour adds another chapter to the story of how it changed from the only river that originates in the city to serving as a sewer for unwanted garbage, sewage and effluents”, reports leading newspaper of Bengaluru, The Hindu.
Post 2020 lockdown, this once in a while dumping operation of decades, had become a daily affair. The residents, BET and other civil society organizations pleaded with pollution control board to resolve the issue. High level meetings with Minister for Forest and Ecology B.S Anand Singh took place. The residents even met with the MLA and also started a Petition, but to no avail. The daily affair continued into December 2020. The timeline of events captured by BET is here.
Based on Deccan Herald coverage of the issue, National Green Tribunal (NGT) South bench registered the case suo-moto (Application No 185/2020) in September 2020. A Public Interest Litigation filed in June of 2020 in Karnataka high court seeking for pollution abatement of the Vrishabhavati river was also underway. Despite the media glare, full gaze of the judiciary, the dumps continued, while the residents and BET continued persuading pollution control board to act. The daily dumping into the Channasandra stream ended sometime in December, during which time pollution control board appointed Marshalls had started patrolling the area. However the issue of tankers dumping into rivers, streams, drains and manholes continues, with the latest one captured by citizens on 03rd of Apr 2021.
It’s the ‘sewage’ dumbo:
Pollution control board has long been building false and reductionist pollution narrative of ‘domestic sewage’ as the main pollutant and that BWSSB and apartments are the main culprits. During inspection visits, pollution control board's RajaRajeshwarinagar Regional Officer Mr Dinesh, has vehemently (and stupidly) maintained that the dump is ‘sewage’ irrespective of the different colours, oily texture and pungent chemical smell. However, within their own records, as looked at by BET under RTI, pollution control board suspects Bulk Drugs and Pharmaceutical industries. (After reviewing the RajaRajeshwarinagar tanker file, RTI requests for copies has not yet been complied by pollution control board for the last 5 months)
An organized environmental crime enabled by ease of doing business:
Pollution in Indian rivers is growing leaps and bounds with the role of industrial pollution severely underestimated. Weak environmental governance coupled with ease of doing business has given polluting industries a free pass to externalize the cost of pollution abatement by simply dumping their toxic waste into rivers and other waterbodies. Not to mention the dilution of environmental laws.
The issue of dirty dumpers is an organized environmental crime akin to organized drug crime, taking place under the full gaze of the police and pollution control board with political protection. The dead-end FIRs filed in the police station , here and there, when the tankers are caught will not provide the necessary relief from pollution to the citizens or to the river, considering the magnitude of the problem. This is not to say, FIRs must not be filed, they must be filed as it is a government record of the crime happening. It is to say, that citizens need to think and act creatively in order to bring about a change in political and administrative attitude. Ease of doing business must not mean end of clean and healthy environment.
