dte reporters met the pollution control authorities in some industrial areas of the country, spoke to the local people about the effects of pollution and met representatives of the civil society to gauge the extent of the problem on the socio-economic level. They also got in touch with industrialists, but this exercise was largely fruitless as industry is very wary of coming out in the open to discuss its problems, all the while proceeding with irresponsible practices. Some case studies are presented here.

Patancheru Andhra Pradesh
The dte/iit test conducted on a water sample from a handpump in Pocharam village of Patancheru Industrial Area ( pia ) in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh ( ap ) showed that the level of mercury was 115 times the permissible limit. A study conducted by National Geophysical Research Institute, ( ngri ), Hyderabad, found that arsenic levels in villages in and around pia are as high as 700 parts per billion (ppb), as against the permissible 10 ppb recommended by the World Health Organisation ( who ). The study also found that the manganese level in the groundwater sample from Bandalguda area was 15 times the permissible limit, whereas the concentration of nickel was 4-20 times the permissible limit.

“We caught Paks Trade, a Patancheru-based company, for pumping arsenic-laced effluents into borewells,” says Tishya Chatterjee, member secretary, ap Pollution Control Board ( appcb ). “We have also found high levels of cadmium in the groundwater samples in ap ’s industrial areas,” he adds. It is common knowledge in Patancheru that most of the 400 industrial units cannot treat effluents properly and that they dump them in the open or inject them directly into the ground (see p41: “Effluent treatment plants have not been effective” ). Chatterjee points out that there are several other industrial units that also indulge in such practices, but there are no clear-cut rules to stop such polluters (see box: Killers at large ).

itw Signode, another Patancheru-based company, was discharging toxic, strontium-laced effluents into a nearby drain. A ngri study found high levels of strontium in the groundwater. “We located this industry and closed it,” says Chatterjee.” A study by the ground