Graphite India's soot shoots up Whitefield's pollution graph

It is not just the traffic chaos on Graphite India Road, Whitefield that irks residents and commuters.

The dangerous chemical emissions from Graphite India Limited (GIL) too have become a major source of worry to those passing by the road.

The feet and hands of passersby and the children’s play areas near GIL turn black due to the emissions. Residents suffer from coughs and respiratory problems in the locality. Some of the households have even purchased air purifiers to protect themselves from the carbon particles that are invisible to the human eye. Despite multiple petitions signed by Whitefield residents and memorandums submitted to the government officials, there has been no respite for the commuters and residents.

Sandip Saha, who resides in an apartment just 700 metres away from GIL, said, “Enormous amounts of fine graphite soot are released into the atmosphere each day. Not just the employees, even daily commuters, residents and traders in the vicinity of GIL are suffering. For the past one month, the problem has worsened as GIL is releasing large emissions.”

Members of Whitefield Rising said that the plant stopped working in 2011, following instructions from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). But after two years, it resumed functioning.

The members said that more than one lakh people take the Graphite India Road to reach several IT parks in the vicinity.

Sujatha M, another affected resident, said that there were more than six big apartments near GIL and three to four schools. She said, “We are forced to keep the doors in the house closed round the clock. Even that does not stop the particles from entering our homes.”

Vaman Acharya, former chairperson of KSPCB under whose tenure GIL was told to shut operations, told Deccan Herald that the company got a stay order from the court and hence they could not do anything.

He said that the company had vast land and had sold off a few acres to people, who built houses on them.

“Hence, citizens themselves are to be blamed. Also, the place where GIL is located is one of the highly polluted areas whether the plant functions or not. The area records high Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) due to the presence of the plant and other industries,” Acharya said.