Mounds of white thick foam, formed from water that was released from the Kelavarapalli dam at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, spread onto roads and agricultural lands on Thursday.
The frothy effluent-filled water of Kelavarapalli dam submerged a bridge on Hosur-Nandimangalam road, which got covered with foam rising up to several feet, reports said.
Firefighters with water hoses spend hours to clear the foam from the road.“The dam water is no longer used for drinking purposes. Due to pollution, the formation of toxic foam took place,” an official in Hosur said on condition of anonymity.
The water of the dam, which officials said is polluted by industrial effluents, was discharged into the Thenpennai river due to the heavy rain during the past week in the region, which is about 40km from Bengaluru in Karnataka. More than 4,000 cusecs of water was released into the river, reports said.
The foam has been piling up over the past few days with a stench filling the air and stood at 5-feet above the road. It covered agricultural lands destroying crops, reports said. It has been blocking roads and leading to traffic disruption. Videos from the location showed thick foam piled up in the area and local policemen trying to keep the situation under control.