Our fight is against Pharmaceutical Industries polluting the air in the vicinity of Qutbullapur, (Bachupally, Nizampet, Miyapur, Kukatpally, Kompally) Telangana State. There is a large gamut of Pharmaceutical companies, ranging from small to large, namely, Ramky, Reddy Labs, MNR, Aurobindo, SMS etc., which are openly violating the government statutory regulations by releasing untreated toxic substances and poisonous gases as per their convenience. These gases not only have bad odor but also have serious implications on resident’s health especially on small children, women and senior citizens. Initial exposure to these gases cause symptoms including, but not limited to, severe eye irritation, suffocation, respiratory tract infections, chronic lung disorders, cancer, and in acute cases death.

For last six years, residents have been running pillar to post: including submitting numerous memorandums to pollution control board (PCB) authorities and organizing peaceful darnas, hunger strikes, and Rasta Rokos with the help of local political representatives. But so far this has yielded little fruition, each time when we protest, corrupt PCB officials seize this an opportunity to enhance their own welfare by receiving bribes from these fraudulent Pharmaceutical companies.

Malicious Pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of unsophisticated online monitoring equipment and corrupted officials to avoid adding another expensive step(s) in their production process, scrubbing, before releasing the gases. This adulteration not only affects the air but also contaminates ground water supplies damaging the environment. The residents of this area are dependent on ground water resources and therefore their health is deteriorating.

The Qutbullapur area is a densely populated area with over million people and an educational hub containing the highest number of educational institutions in Telangana. Students commute to these institutions from other parts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy. Breathing impure air impairs the nervous system by curbing memory capacities and inducing dizziness resulting in lower education standards.

Some Preventive Procedures:

1. Require pharmaceutical companies to incorporate scrubbing towers into their production line
2. Install 24 x 7 online monitoring equipment and publish it online so that PCB or Pharmaceutical companies can’t tamper results and residents can help monitor pollution levels
3. Relocate polluting pharmaceutical companies to remote areas to prevent human causalities
4. Regulate monopolies so that it is easier to enforce regulations

As residents of a metropolitan city, we must embrace our responsibilities as citizens and help fight against companies who wish to exploit the weaker laws of economically developing countries such as India. We request the State and Central government, Judicial system, and Anti-Corruption Department to act quickly and avoid another Bhopal gas tragedy in “Bangaru Telangana”.