Karnataka has been caught unawares in a first-ever inter-state racket of illegal dumping of hazardous waste in a village in Tumkur district, contaminating the groundwater resources in the area.

In July this year, residents of Yadgere village, Koratagere taluk, Tumkur district complained to the regional officer of the State Pollution Control Board office, Tumkur about contamination in the borewell water and a foul smell emanating from some solid waste dumped at a nearby agricultural site.

The officers visited the village on July 17 and inspected the water samples of two borewells and found that the colour of the water was yellow and had a pungent smell.

They also visited Survey no 25/2, Yadgere village belonging to one Thimmaiah and saw some black solid waste at the farm.

Lab report

They took the samples of the water and the waste and sent it to the chief laboratory analyst, Department of Mines and Geology.

The hazardous waste was buried in six pits of 6x3x10 feet size and covered with earth.

“On July 22, the Mines and Geology Department sent us the report stating that it was chemical waste containing aluminium and lead and that the groundwater was contaminated,” said D R Kumaraswamy, environment officer, hazardous waste management cell, State Pollution Control Board.

Lead is a heavy metal and poisonous. It can act on the central nervous system and can lead to reduced IQ.

Contaminated water

The villagers of Yadgere have been asked not to use borewell water for drinking purpose.

“It’s a very serious issue as ground water contamination is very difficult to contain,” said another officer.

The regional officer of the Pollution Control Board on July 21 filed a complaint under Section 133 of the CrPC with ACP, Madhugiri and an FIR under Sections 269, 278 of the IPC at Koratagere police station and subsequently, two people were arrested.

The Board seized a document from the accused which indicated that a firm, Super Petroleum Products Pvt Ltd, Taloga, Raigad district, Maharashtra had addressed a letter to one Shasun Drugs and Chemicals, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu authorising one Sheikh Afrose of M/s Shakthi Enterprises to collect drums containing sludge for the Karnataka region.

“The accused told us that they collected the sludge-containing-barrels and dumped them on the instructions of Shakthi, on agricultural land.

More than one

They also said that they used to take sludge from one more industry, Tagross Industries Pvt Ltd in Puducherri and have so far dumped around 40 to 50 barrels of chemical sludge at the farm and 80 barrels on the roadside, near Lambani Thanda on Gauribidanur-Koratagere Road,” said Mr Kumaraswamy.   Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Board came to know that Thimmaiah had given his land to one Riyaz, a scrap dealer from Akkirampura village.

Details sought

“Riyaz used to buy barrels containing waste, dump it on private land and sell the empty barrels. Six months back, the villagers complained to officials but they didn’t take any action against him,” he added.

On September 20, a  KSPCB officer visited Shasun and Tagross Industries and found that the waste stored there was similar to the one dumped in Tumkur. The Board has written letters to the  Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra Pollution Control Boards asking them to enquire and report.