Karnataka Woman Turns Savior, Single-Handedly Stops Tankers Releasing Chemicals In Drain

Remember Padma Shri awardee Saalumarada Thimakka who convinced Karnataka CM not to cut 385 trees she’d planted? People are well-aware of the need for keeping a check on things and activities that destruct our environment.

In a similar case, a woman from Karnataka managed to block chemical loaded tankers from dumping effluents in a drain. B Revathi Raj, a daily commuter on Nayandahalli stretch spotted a tanker dumping chemicals in the Raja Kaluve (stormwater drain) on her way. The 38-year-old also alleged that the police turned a blind eye to the tankers which dumped water mixed with dangerous effluents in the drain from factories.

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The woman, who is the founder president of Bheemaputri Brigade (Mahila Sanghatane), in her complaint to the police, said that came across a foul smell near the drain every time she commuted on Mysore Road. Revathi then started enquiring about the same with metro workers and people who lived there and found that tankers from nearby factories would dump chemicals in the drain.

She then set up a team and kept vigil of the area to catch the tankers red-handed. After a couple of days, on July 15, her team caught a tanker dumping the contaminated water into the drain. As soon as the driver noticed them he fled leaving the tanker behind. Revathi’s team then seized the tanker and filed a complaint with the police.

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Revathi had also filmed the entire incident and called the police from Jnana Bharathi police station and Annapoorneswari Nagar on the spot. They, however, said that the area doesn’t fall under their jurisdiction. By that time police from Byatarayanapura police station reached the spot and asked Revathi about the entire incident. They also asked people not to make videos of the site, reports TNIE.

Revathi said that the seized tanker had a capacity if 12000 liters and 15-16 such tankers would discharge chemicals into the drain every day. The police assured that an FIR will be filed against the matter the next morning as they did not know under what sections the FIR had to be filed. The police also managed to arrest the driver of the tanker.

“I got a call from Byatarayanapura police the next morning asking me to come to the station. When I reached there the cops said there was no water in the lorry and the tyres too were punctured. I warned them that I have made the video and I will take it to the higher-ups if they didn’t register the FIR. It was only after that they took the case,” Revathi told TNIE.

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An investigating officer from Byatarayanapura station police said, “We have arrested the tanker driver Krishna. He confessed that the water mixed with chemicals was from factories in Peenya Industrial area. He said that they used to let out the water at a different spot. It was only on July 5 that he went to the Nayandahalli area. The lorry has Maharashtra registration number. The investigation is on.”

We surely need more people like her in our country who don’t turn a blind eye on their duty towards the environment!

Kudos to you Revathi!

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