India is such a weird and wonderful country – where there are cities where lakes spout frothy mountains of foam, where some really bizarre TV shows are made and where some wonderful things happen as well. Sometimes strange things happen to Indian animals as well – sometimes they turn blue! Here is one such weird story from Mumbai – a story about blue dogs:
It was a story that did the rounds in India and even abroad: the story about stray dogs in one part of Mumbai turning blue!
Residents of the area noticed that there were blue dogs roaming around in their area. One hitherto white dog had turned blue seemingly overnight said one eye witness!
The local water was to blame it was found. Water pollution was not just causing untold harm to aquatic life and the ground water reserves, it was also turning dogs visibly blue!
When residents complained about the incident to the Pollution Control Board, tests were carried out. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation found that industrial waste was being dumped into local water bodies without adequate waste water treatment.
Industries in the area are negligent about waste management and untreated industrial waste is illegally pumped out. The effluent from only about 347 factories is treated at the common effluent treatment plant, whereas there are almost thrice the number of industrial units in the area. Clearly many units are simply releasing their untreated waste into the environment; in this case it is the Kasadi river that is the unfortunate recipient.
It isn't just dogs with blue fur that are the visible signs of pollution in the area. Dead aquatic life is another problem and some blue birds have also been spotted. One of the dogs who turned blue also went blind according to reports.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has issued a showcause notice against the company releasing dye into the water and has warned of a shutdown if pollution norms are not met within 15 days.
Each of the five dogs found to have turned blue seem to have recovered after undergoing blood tests and veterinary treatment. Since the dye is water soluble, the Mumbai rains wash out the color. However what internal damage the dogs have sustained is not yet clear.
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