In spite of regular counseling, advisories and reminders to the members of pharma and bulk drug manufacturing companies on the significance of protecting the environment and highlighting about the need for abiding the pollution control norms by the drug manufacturing firms in Hyderabad, the pharma and bulk drug manufacturing firms in Hyderabad are not willing to shun their old habits and continue to adopt stealthy means to release pharma pollutants into the common drains causing grave health hazard to the general public.

Recently, the authorities of Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) during their regular inspection of Jeedimetla Industrial area have found that one of the bulk drug manufacturing companies had violated the pollution control norm and had adopted stealthy means to release the harmful chemical residues into the common drain passing adjacent by its compound wall.  

“Despite our regular warnings and advisories to the pharma companies they never tend to mend their ways. In our recent inspection, we have found one bulk drug manufacturing company Athulitha Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., (formerly Vegesna Laboratories Pvt. Ltd), has installed an underground pipeline connecting the boiler area in the company to the outside common drain. This is a grave violation and we have issued a closure notice and initiated legal action against this company for openly violating the environmental norms,” informed a senior official from TSPCB.

Upon stumbling up with the underground pipeline linking with the pharma company, the PCB officials tried to dug up and the excavation revealed a HDPE pipe is laid to a depth of 5 feet, upon further excavation, the officials could finally establish the pipe linking between road and boundary wall of Athulitha Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.

The PCB authorities to further confirm from where the pipeline was linking, they conducted searches inside area of the industry and verified that pieces of HDPE pipelines are existing behind the boiler. “We have seized the pipelines and videographed the entire operation and Panchanama is also done to penalize the said company,” revealed the PCB officials.

The above observations clearly indicated that despite some of the pharma companies claiming tall about their sincerity in abiding by all the PCB norms to protect the environment, there are some bulk drug manufacturing firms, whose acts have put a big black mark on the entire industry. “Indulging in illegal discharge of effluents into nalla by using underground pipelines is a gross violation. The illegal act of a few firms is bringing a bad name to the entire industry. We will not support such firms and the government should take stern action against such violators,” informed the members of BDMA.