Hyderabad:

Panic gripped people in the Venkatadri Nagar area near the Jeedimetla Industrial Estate in Hyderabad as red-colour liquid resembling blood flooded the streets.

The liquid gushing out from a manhole caused concern among the residents.

Foul stench and difficulty in breathing worried them further.

Alarmed over this, the locals approached the municipal authorities and heaved a sigh of relief after they were informed that the gushing, noxious liquid was not blood.

The officials told the residents that it was a red-coloured chemical that was apparently discharged from the nearby industrial units.

Venkatadri Nagar in Subhash Nagar division is adjacent to the industrial area.

According to owners of some warehouses in the area, few industrial units directly discharge the chemicals into the drainage system. They said the municipal authorities were not taking any action.

As the manhole was overflowing, the red-coloured liquid flooded the streets, causing panic. The residents were concerned over the impact of the chemical effluent on their health and demanded immediate action.

The Telangana Pollution Control Board officials visited the area to take stock of the situation and assured the residents that steps would be taken to check the discharge of chemicals by the industries.

In another incident, people foiled an attempt to dump toxic chemicals into the Musi River in the waste.

A truck driver tried to dump chemical industrial waste into the Musi River at Bapughat. The incident, which occurred under the jurisdiction of the Rajendranagar Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate, sparked outrage among locals. The alert residents stopped the driver from offloading industrial waste. He escaped before police could reach the scene, leaving the truck behind. The police registered a case and took up an investigation.

Local people say that this was not the first time such an attempt was made. According to them, some industrial units have been dumping waste into the river, which is already highly polluted. They appealed to the government to check the illegal dumping, which undermines the efforts to rejuvenate the river. The state government is making big plans to revive the river with the Musi Riverfront Development Project.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)