Hyderabad: On Thursday, Allwyn Colony in Kukatpally looked a little like Kashmir, except it had toxic foam instead of snow. Chemical industries have been dumping effluents into the nala, and this has come to light with the onset of the rains. The nala was covered with a layer of foam, and the strong winds carried some of that foam into houses in the vicinity and onto the main road, posing a problem to commuters.

Citizens were in for a shock when the foam grew to several meters in height and started overflowing onto the roads at Liberty and at Allwyn Colony.

Ravi Kumar Yadhav, a resident of Serilingampally, said, “Chemical waste is illegally being dumped into the Yellamma Banda Lake, from where the nala originates. In 2016, the nala broke and polluted water entered into Dharini Nagar. The area was totally filled with water for a week, and residents had to be evacuated. The only way one could access the area was by boat. The GHMC had promised to desilt the nala and check on chemical waste dumping, but the episode has been repeated.”

Froth covered water canal at DharaniNagar
When heavy rains lashed the city, the residents at Dharani Nagar at Alwyn X colony woke up to a massive layer of froth covering the entire water canal that lay beside their colony. The thick layer spread across half a kilometer of the canal that refused to dissipate till late evening hours.

The residents who stayed next to the canal say they suspect chemical effluents from Jeedimetla industrial area to have polluted the canal which arises from a nearby small tank. The canal also carries sewage of upstream colonies including Dharani nagar. The president of Dharani Nagar welfare association, G. Gopal says they informed the officials but do not expect much action.

“They assured us they would build a wall to prevent the froth and excess sewage water from entering our homes,” said Shanti, who stays near the canal.