Stray dogs at Navi Mumbai’s Taloja industrial area have turned blue thanks to the polluted waters of Kasadi river.

The fur of several dogs in the area now sport different shades of blue with some of them looking completely dyed in the bright colour.

The area has nearly 1,000 factories and about a third of them process chemicals for different uses. There is just one Common Effluent Treatment Plant for more than 300 small industries and many allegedly release their untreated waste into a canal that feeds into the Kasadi river.

While searching for food, the dogs wade into the river and scavenge in the industrial area. The contaminated water and the powdered dye are reportedly changing the colour of their fur.

The Hindustan Times reports that untreated industrial waste has raised pollution levels in the Kasadi River up to 13 times the safe limit.

A test found that the levels of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – a measure of water quality - was 80 milligram a litre (mg/L). Levels above 3 mg/L make the water unfit for human consumption and fish die if BOD level crosses 6 mg/L.

Rajesh Bhanot, a local resident, said, “The polluted water has killed the fish and affected farmers adversely, who are struggling to raise crops.”

He also said several people in the local community were complaining of health problems such as breathing difficulties.

The industries in the area employed thousands of workers and about 100,000 people lived in the vicinity, he added.

Last week, members of Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell took pictures of affected dogs and filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
Arati Chauhan, who runs the animal protection cell, told The Hindustan Times, “We have only spotted blue dogs so far. We do not know if birds, reptiles and other creatures are affected.”

MPCB officials said they had ordered an enquiry and would act against factories that were discharging dye into the water body.