Industries booked for polluting Vrushabhavathi

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) filed cases against industrial polluters for discharging waste into the Vrushabhavathi valley, during a night vigil on Tuesday.

The Board officials, along with the local police, seized three tankers carrying untreated effluents.

KSPCB chairman Lakshman told DH this was the first time that the Board had taken such an action. Based on a tip-off from locals around the valley, KSPCB teams started a night vigil.

They seized three trucks, post midnight on Tuesday. Ranganath,  the driver of one of the tankers has been booked under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

The team headed by Lakshman seized the tanker at Seshagirihalli village in Bidadi hobli. The lorry was carrying effluents to Nice Road. The effluents were to be transported to Govind Solvents, Kunigal, where a common treatment plant is located.

Lakshman said on verification of toll receipts, the team found that toll had been paid only up to Mysuru Road. This implied that the effluents were being carried for illegal disposal.

The Board officials seized two more tankers which were transporting effluents from various industries without documents on Mysuru Road. As the KSPCB officials and police stopped the trucks, the drivers fled.