Drug makers deny pollution charge

The Bulk Drug Manufacturers’ Association (BDMA) has said that the recent improvement in the Hussainsagar water quality demonstrated that bulk drug manufacturers were not to be blamed for the lake’s pollution.

The BDMA said that its members were working at

80 per cent of their installed capacity during the lockdown, and blaming the drug and pharma industries for the lake’s pollution was wrong.

“Most of them produced more than the permitted capacity of medicines because of the relaxation given by the government,” Eshwar Reddy, executive director, BDM,A told Deccan Chronicle. During April, the Pollution Contro; Board’s monitoring has shown that the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in Hussainsagar during the lockdown had gone up to

7.3mg/lit which, following CPCB norms, should be above 4mg/litre. DO levels are required for the substance of aquatic life. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level during lockdown has come down to almost 8mg/litre from a pre-lockdown range of 24 to 76mg/litre.

“Over the last six years, all drug manufacturers have gone for zero liquid discharge systems and installed multiple effect evaporation plants along with other units for total recycling and reuse of water,” said Murali Mohan, a senior official of the Telangana state pollution control board.

The bad environment quality during normal times could be due to vehicular pollution, discharge of untreated sewage into water bodies and unscientific collection and handling of solid waste, in particular the municipal solid waste.

There are also other industries like tanneries which contribute to such pollution, said members of BDMA.