Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) officials have warned around 30,000 residents of 20 villages against using the Shimsha river water, after chemical mix from a sugar factory flowed into the river.

On the night of November 20, the boiler of the NLS sugar factory in Koppa near Maddur was destroyed in a blast. The chemicals stored in the boiler spilt and reached the Shimsha river.

According to the authorities, the chemical has polluted the river water for up to 20 kilometres, killing lakhs of fish and other aquatic organisms. Hundreds of cattle, which drank the river water, have also died and the farmers are tensed about their crop.

The authorities also said that the Shimsha, a tributary of the Cauvery, has a dam built across it in Iggaluru near Ramanagara. “The crops are getting burned due to the chemical pollution. The situation is very serious. We have asked the villagers on both sides of the river not to leave their cattle near the river and ensure that its water is not used for any purpose, including agriculture,” said a senior officer of the KSPCB.