JOIN USThe Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which has launched a drive to clear Tamil Nadu-based illegal dyeing units operating around the City illegally, has managed to get 90 per cent of them closed.
Shunted out from Tamil Nadu, following orders from the Madras High Court, these dyeing units had mushroomed around the City.
The KSPCB, which got wind of it, began identifying these polluters and launched a drive against them in co-ordination with Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and the local authorities.
There were about 60 such units, from Tirupur and Erode. These would dispose effluents directly into the drains or any water body, polluting the water, said KSPCB chairman Vamanacharya.
Noting that most of these units had mushroomed around the industrial areas of Peenya and on Kanakapura Road, he said they began the drive four months ago.
“Initially, we stopped power supply with the help of Bescom. Then, their diesel generator sets were seized. Now, nearly 95 per cent of them have been closed. Within a week, all these units will be closed,” he said.
Pointing out that these dyeing units used to buy water from private tanker water suppliers, he said on an average they consumed three tankers full of water to dye the materials. These units would discharge at least 10,000 litres of water daily, sufficient to pollute the drains.
Pollution
Foul smell used to emanate from the drains and the colour of the water would turn dark. The ground water would also be polluted, Vamanacharya said.
The drive was not easy as owners of traditional micro dyeing units in the City (at Cottonpet and Sampangiramanagar) staged a dharna recently against the drive.
However, according to Vamanacharya, they called off the strike after KSPCB explained that they would not be disturbed.
“They follow traditional methods and use harmless dyes. Their effluents are not harmful like the effluents from the Tamil Nadu-based units,” he said.