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Make demand for pure water a campaign, says Seechewal

FARIDKOT: Giving a call to make the demand for pure drinking water a campaign in the next Lok Sabha elections to force all political parties to address the issue, environmentalists, religious persons and social activists on Monday joined hands in Faridkot in the wake of high pollutants spoiling the surface and groundwater in the state.

Make demand for pure water a campaign, says Seechewal

Balbir Singh Seechewal (extreme right) addresses a gathering in Faridkot on Monday. Tribune Photo



Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, June 18

Giving a call to make the demand for pure drinking water a campaign in the next Lok Sabha elections to force all political parties to address the issue, environmentalists, religious persons and social activists on Monday joined hands in Faridkot in the wake of high pollutants spoiling the surface and groundwater in the state.

Starting this campaign, Bhai Kanhiya Cancer Roko Sewa Society on Monday invited Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, the person who is spearheading anti-river pollution drive, using his assiduously cultivated self-help philosophy, Bhai Harpreet Singh, jathedar Takht Damdama Sahib, Dr Pyare Lal Garg, a prominent pediatrician and many others from across the state.

“Once known for its prosperity and deriving its name from five rivers (Punj-aab), the state is now losing its prosperity, sheen and water. There is no gain in just criticising political leaders, bureaucrats and the industrialists for messing up our water, it is time for action,” said Balbir Singh Seechewal.

“Until the people make their demand a big issue, the political parties would never bother to embrace and address it. Leave aside the freebies and hold cudgels to make pure water one centralised demand and force the political leaders to address the issue,” Seechewal said.

“We have disturbed the ecology badly. The flow of polluted water in free-flowing natural rivers has blocked the recharging process. If the flow of polluted water is stopped to the streams, the water level will automatically improve,” he said.

“We in Punjab have floods when it is raining or droughts when there is less rain. It is all poor planning. It is happening as we are not recharging the earth with rainwater,” said Seechewal.

“Presently, we are working at cross-purposes. Government organisations dig wells, distribute purification tablets to clean water, then there is installation of reverse osmosis (RO) pumps, but we get little benefit. Then the projects are stalled. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” said Dr Pyare Lal Garg, adding that the water industry was a big business for the corporate sector.

Jathedar Harpreet Singh said how drinking RO-treated water for a long time caused many problems to him.

Political leaders see more benefit in cutting ribbons at opening ceremonies for the water projects, but days after, there is no money to operate these projects, said Seechewal.

Selling high-priced water is a business for multinational companies. The owners have political clout and don’t want the government to come up with less expensive ways for people to get drinking water, he added.

“Thanks to this unchecked phenomenon, these faceless multinational corporations essentially control our food, not based on what is healthy and sustainable, but on what will maximise their profits,” said Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti Virasat Mission.

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