Water body on the outskirts catches fire due to hazardous chemical waste

BENGALURU: On Wednesday, a water body which is located on the outskirts of Gauribidanur taluk in Chikkaballapur district had caught a fire. The fire and thick amounts of smoke had been emitted for almost 20 minutes, which created panic among the residents of Barjanakunte village.

The fire was caused by the hazardous material that is being dumped into the pond by industrial units. Villagers have said that people dump waste and chemical leftovers in the small pits and ponds in the site near Siruguppa sugar factory which was shut 20 years ago. Locals have also claimed that some days ago, a flock of sheep which went to the pond to drink water also died.

Avinash, the sub-inspector, of the Gowribidanur Rural police station, told a source, that though no complaint has been lodged in this regard, he’ll look into the matter.

Fire officer R Manjunath said that, they were alerted about the flame near the sugar factory at noon. “By the time we reached the spot, there was no trace of fire or smoke. However, villagers said the situation was alarming prior to our arrival.”