Overview

• Joint NMMC, MPCB and police raids in Digha/Airoli and Narpoli uncovered tankers discharging calcium hypochlorite into open drains shortly after residents reported persistent chemical odours.
• Thane police seized two tankers containing 17,720 kg of the bleaching agent while officials in Navi Mumbai halted the release of an estimated 12,000 litres of waste.
• FIRs lodged under sections 279, 280 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita name a Palghar-based chemical company director, two drivers and a worker for fouling public water and making the atmosphere noxious.
• Residents had lodged repeated complaints about eye irritation and respiratory distress since early August, prompting 15 nights of joint patrols.
• Authorities have dispatched samples to MPCB and NMMC laboratories for forensic testing to reconcile conflicting volume estimates and determine contamination levels.