Earlier this month, cameras captured a handful of blue dogs running on the streets of Mumbai. The culprit for turning the canines off-color? Industrial waste and dyes that were discharged by a manufacturing company into a local river where the dogs swim.
The fallout was swift. Within a week, local authorities shut down the company, Ducol Organics and Colours, after an investigation showed that the company broke waste disposal laws.
According to The Guardian, the Kasadi River flows through an area where numerous manufacturing facilities operate. The river is generally cordoned off from the public, but stray animals frequently swim in the river and roam around the manufacturing sites.
Ducol manufactures dyes for a number of industries including textiles, detergents and rubber.
“Ducol Organics Pvt Ltd. is harming animals and birds in the area. We cannot let such an industry function. We will ensure that the plant does not function from Monday and the decision sets an example for other polluting industries, which may not be following pollution abatement measures,” said Anil Mohekar, regional officer of the Manarashtra Pollution Control Board in Mumbai.
