Residents take to street against toxic gas leak in Nizampet

Hyderabad: Seeing no action from authorities against the pollution units, residents of Pragathi Nagar near Nizampet who are experiencing a ‘toxic gas’ leak in their area for the past few days staged protest at Elip X roads here on Sunday.

Demanding immediate action against the leak allegedly from a local pharma unit, they urged the authorities, including Pollution Control Board (PCB), to restore the air quality in the area. According to locals, the toxic fume has been emanating at least for the past three to four days, particularly in the neighbourhood which is close to the ALEAP industrial area. This has impacted the nearby colonies including Vasavi Layout, Shilpa Paradise, Kakatiya Hills amongst others.

On October 24, the locals witnessed the ‘toxic fumes’ emanating causing foul smell during early morning hours. This has caused severe inconvenience to residents of Pragathi Nagar, Nizampet and Bachupally areas. While a few who ventured outside their houses also felt dizziness and nausea, besides burning sensation in their eyes.

Some of the residents decided to stay inside their houses to avoid inhaling the toxic gas. This situation persisted not only during the day but also in night hours.

Velumuri Srinivas, who raised the alarm earlier this month, posted on X while tagging the authorities, “We are experiencing strong chemical smells at Pragathi Nagar causing a lot of distress.” Another resident, Sai Teza, recalled that the locals have submitted over 50 complaints to the PCB and during the Prajavani programmes, but of no avail.

Since the authorities have failed to contain the situation, the residents decided to stage protest on Saturday.

K Abhilash, who raised the issue on October 24, alleged that chemical smell became a regular issue at ALEAP Pragathi Nagar, Gajularamaram.

“Requesting the concerned team to take necessary action against the companies not following rules…” he posted on X while tagging PCB and Chief Minister’s Office.