Officials of the Environment and Ecology Department caught a tipper attempting to dump fly ash at the Thannirbhavi beach here on Wednesday.
The tipper was adding to a six-foot high heap behind a garage on the Thannirbhavi beach. Regional Director of the department Mohammed Beary and Assistant Director Mahesh Kumar were on an inspection of a garage functioning on the beach when they saw the tipper trying to dump fly ash. They found that the vehicle was carrying the substance from a vegetable oil refinery located in the Baikampady Industrial Area, said Mr. Kumar.
They informed officials of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, who reached the spot and made further inquiries. Inspecting the material, Regional Officer of the board Lakshman N. said it was unlikely that it was hazardous but it was “wrong” to dump it on the beach.
Owner of the garage building Makri D'Souza told Mr. Lakshman that the land belonged to the Government, and that he knew nothing of the people who came and dumped the sand.
According to Mr. D'Souza's estimate, the ash was being dumped there for around one-and-a-half months. He denied any knowledge of who was behind the dumping and where the substance came from.
A resident of the area said that vehicles had been dumping fly ash at the spot for around four months now.
