Clifford the Big Blue Dog

The streets of Mumbai have been filled by blue dogs after a local river was filled by industrial dye by a manufacturing plant in the Taloja Industrial area of the city. So far, over ten cobalt canines have been spotted this month, with residents of the area reporting the sightings and the waste-filled river to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). The shocked local population have also been capturing the pigmented pooches on camera and sharing the unusual videos and photos on social media.

A member of the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, who had witnesses the blue dogs, commented, ‘It was shocking to see how the dog’s white fur had turned completely blue. We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the pollution control board to act against such industries.’ Dogs are not the only animals that appear to have been affected by the leaked dyes and other waste, as reports also confirm damage to other mammals, birds and reptiles. An animal welfare agency has reported that blood reports from the blue dogs show that they have been unharmed in other ways by their experience and that, on examination, the dye can be removed.

The manufacturing company deemed responsible has been shut down by the pollution control board, as positive links between air and water pollution have been made with the plant.  A regional officer MPCB New Mumbai announced that ‘none of the directions under the ‘Control of Water and Air Pollution Acts’ of 1974 and 1981 were being followed’. The affected Kasadi River, however, flows through an area populated with hundreds of factories that may have contributed to the problem.

Natural Sciences, Geography, Law and Land Economy students should examine the environmental harm caused by the polluted river (to both animal, plant and human life) and the legal case against the company concerned.