Seal polluting agarbathi units, says HC

The High Court on Thursday directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to seal agarbathi units which have been disposing of chemicals into the drains and polluting the environment.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna gave the order, hearing a petition by Suvarna and others, all residents of Adarshnagar in Chamarajpet, seeking that the polluting agarbathi units be closed down.

The petitioners submitted that the chemicals used in making agarbathis were harmful and would lead to several health problems. When the government counsel submitted that the chemicals used in agarbathis were not harmful, the bench objected to it and said, “Even the chemicals used in the kitchen are harmful, how can you say that?”

The bench was surprised when it found that neither the BBMP nor the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had submitted the list of chemicals used in agarbathis, except imposing several conditions in the manufacturing process.