Alert residents of a gated community caught a truck driver trying to dump chemical waste into the Vrishabhavathi river on Saturday night.
The truck was seized and the keys were taken away by the residents. But, when the residents, accompanied by the beat police, went to the police station to file a complaint, the driver vanished along with the truck.
Nagaraju, Ramaraju, M.K. Kulkarni, C.J. Prakash, all residents of GoodEarth Orchard, noticed the truck belonging to a factory trying to dump the waste and caught hold of the driver. But he managed to escape.
The residents immediately called up the police control room.
The residents alleged that though the matter was reported around 9.15 p.m., the night beat policemen reached the spot around 10.40 p.m., that too after repeated follow-ups.
Meanwhile, the residents took samples of the chemical from the truck, and also took photographs. The night beat police suggested that the residents go to the police station to file a formal complaint. The residents took the keys of the truck before heading to the police station. After filing a complaint when they returned to the spot, the truck was missing.
“We suspect some nexus between the authorities concerned and the factory owners who are dumping waste unscientifically,” a resident said.
"This is not the first time. We have complained several times to the police and the BBMP about waste and chemicals being dumped in the river, causing health hazard to the residents in and around, but in vain,” another resident said.
“It is a disappointing as the police commissioner, on one hand, claims to have reduced the response time of the beat police. But in reality, the police are slower and inactive,” another resident rued.
Kengeri Inspector Vijay Kumar told The Hindu that necessary action would be taken against the accused. “We have obtained details of the truck and efforts are on to track down the driver,” he added.
On January 4, The Hindu had reported about plastic being segregated and burnt along the river bed. Residents from a gated community in Kambipura had complained to the panchayat and the police about the menace. The vacant land on which this was going on has been cleared now, residents said.
