Patancheru in Pictures
photos by Priti Cox
Nagamani does her
laundry along a stream near Gandigudem village. Note the
black discoloration on the lower part of the rock behind her, showing
the level to which the polluted
water rises in the monsoon season. "My husband and I moved here
from the east coast looking for work. He has a factory job now,
but
it's only on short-term contract."
Rajaiah
shows photos of his dead water buffalo.
Janardhan displays
now-useless rice and flour mills outside his house in
Gandigudem. As we leave the village, he calls after us, repeating
several times the same thing he had told us when we arrived: "If we
have good
water
we can survive! Without
water, we're finished!"
Rekha (in pink): "We
used to grow our own crops, but now we're forced to depend on the
government. These days, my children are always lethargic."
The scene downstream
from the SMS Pharmaceuticals plant in the Kazipally industrial estate.
The factory has a sign in front listing "Hazardous chemicals
used". They include toluene,
methyl
isothiocyanate, DMSO,
and
chloroform.
By court order, all area factories have posted such signs.
But the majority of them, including ones with names like Hyderabad
Chemical Products and Rantus Pharma, have posted blank
hazardous-chemical lists reading "1.______ 2._______
3._______,"
thereby making the dubious claim that they're not working with even one
hazardous compound.
"Treated" water coming
from the outflow pipe at the Central Effluent Treatment Plant in
Patancheru. The plant's capacity is insufficient to handle the
volume and variety of effluents it receives. Indeed, Dr. Allani
Kishan Rao maintains that the Nakkavagu
rivulet is actually more polluted than before the CETP was built,
because tankers are now bringing wastes from factories outside the
watershed, while villagers say that large quantities are still being
dumped untreated.
A
small lake
known as Asanikunta,
outside the Bollaram industrial estate.
Another lake near
Bollaram.
Shantytown
across the road from Aurobindo Pharma Unit No. 5 in the Isnapur
industrial estate. Among the people who
live here are families of truck drivers who haul toxic wastes from the
factory to the Central Effluent Treatment Plant.
People line up for clean water
outside the walls of Aurobindo No. 5.
Stan Cox
Rajaiah
shows photos of his dead water buffalo.
Janardhan displays
now-useless rice and flour mills outside his house in
Gandigudem. As we leave the village, he calls after us, repeating
several times the same thing he had told us when we arrived: "If we
have good
water
we can survive! Without
water, we're finished!"
Rekha (in pink): "We
used to grow our own crops, but now we're forced to depend on the
government. These days, my children are always lethargic."
The scene downstream
from the SMS Pharmaceuticals plant in the Kazipally industrial estate.
The factory has a sign in front listing "Hazardous chemicals
used". They include toluene,
methyl
isothiocyanate, DMSO,
and
chloroform.
By court order, all area factories have posted such signs.
But the majority of them, including ones with names like Hyderabad
Chemical Products and Rantus Pharma, have posted blank
hazardous-chemical lists reading "1.______ 2._______
3._______,"
thereby making the dubious claim that they're not working with even one
hazardous compound. 
"Treated" water coming
from the outflow pipe at the Central Effluent Treatment Plant in
Patancheru. The plant's capacity is insufficient to handle the
volume and variety of effluents it receives. Indeed, Dr. Allani
Kishan Rao maintains that the Nakkavagu
rivulet is actually more polluted than before the CETP was built,
because tankers are now bringing wastes from factories outside the
watershed, while villagers say that large quantities are still being
dumped untreated. 
A
small lake
known as Asanikunta,
outside the Bollaram industrial estate.
Another lake near
Bollaram. 
Shantytown
across the road from Aurobindo Pharma Unit No. 5 in the Isnapur
industrial estate. Among the people who
live here are families of truck drivers who haul toxic wastes from the
factory to the Central Effluent Treatment Plant.
People line up for clean water
outside the walls of Aurobindo No. 5.