A 48-year-old man, who runs a pharmacy in Kolar Gold Field (KGF) in Karnataka, was arrested by forest officials for dumping medical wastes in Bathalapalli reserve forest (RF) that comes under Pernambut forest range near Vellore.
Forest officials said that D. Rajendra Prasad has been running a pharmacy for many years in KGF. He travels to Vellore town via Pernambut and Gudiyatham to buy syringes, medicines, medical equipment and surgical items regularly. He came to Vellore to buy medical stocks a few days ago but on his way, he dumped around 50 kg of medical wastes including used syringes, expired medicines like tablets, capsules and syrups in the Bathalapalli RF, which is around 50 km from KGF.
Based on alerts from residents in the area, a team of forest officials led by P. Satish Kumar, forest range officer (Pernambut), inspected the RF and recovered dumped medical wastes. The team also found unused receipts of the pharmacy. With the address and phone numbers in the bills, the forest team conducted an inquiry with Prasad, who admitted that he dumped the medical wastes during his trip to Vellore a few days ago.
Based on the orders of S. Kalanidhi, District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore division, a case was filed against Prasad under Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Later, he was lodged at the sub-jail in Gudiyatham town.
Forest officials said that Bathalapalli RF on TN-AP border, which covers around 10,000 hectares, is a habitat for elephants, spotted deer, wild boar, peacocks and jackals. The RF is also a corridor for elephants, especially those coming from Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary from Chittoor in A.P.
