Big pharma suck the life out of Gandigudem lake

HYDERABAD: The source of pollution that plagues Gandigudem lake in Sangareddy district, where lakhs of fish were found dead last month, is an open tank located about 5 km away in the Kazipally Industrial Development Area (IDA).  This tank receives effluents from pharmaceutical companies located in the IDA. Simultaneously, effluents from this tank flow out through an outlet all the way till they join Gandigudem lake. Express had reported in April this year about the tank’s existence and the threat caused therefrom to the envirnoment. However, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) had  failed to take any action. When Express visited IDA Kazipally again on Thursday, it came to light that this is the effluent which is destroying Gandigudem lake. 

This also illustrates how the TSPCB  is unwilling to take on the ‘big pharma’ companies which are violating environmental laws. However, TSPCB presents a different version. When contacted, a senior official of the Sangareddy zonal office of TSPCB said, “The polluted ground water is not due to the chemical effluent coming out of pharma companies but due to the dumping of effluents as far back as 1980s. No one has been using the water for several decades. As a result, the soil here is waterlogged and the polluted groundwater keeps seeping out. The tank was constructed at the behest of TSPCB to collect this water and treat it. This polluted groundwater flowing into Gandigudem is responsible for the fish kill,”  he asserted.

The drains coming from pharma units carrying thick, black and yellow effluents could still be seen flowing into the tank and from there into the lake via the channel. Moreover, it was observed that the channel, though which effluent flows out of the tank, has been widened, indicating mischief by pharma companies which release huge amounts of effluents into the environment during rains. 

It may be mentioned here that the phenomenon of lakhs of fish dying in Gandigudem lake started on the night of October 2 when Hyderabad  witnessed an unusually  heavy rainfall.  As per rules, companies should have zero liquid discharge system in place and no effluent should flow out of an industrial unit. 
The water of Gandigudem lake had a dark tinge to it, accompanied by a pungent smell and condensed and highly viscous foam after the heavy rains.

Another shocking observation by Express was that the vast hinterland between Industrial Development Area (IDA)  Kazipally and Gandigudem lake was interspersed with puddles of thick black water, indicative of dumping of effluents by pharmaceutical companies, which might go unnoticed as there are rarely any habitations on this stretch. A major proof of the pharma companies polluting Industrial Development Area (IDA) Kazipally is the strong stench of chemicals that fills the air as soon as one enters the area after passing through the hazardous waste disposal plant.