Easy flows the disaster

As it turns out, the Punjab Government was caught by surprise when the polluted Beas water reached downstream Malwa and Rajasthan areas by way of canals. Drinking water reservoirs were allowed to be polluted. This is not only shocking in terms of apathy of the government machinery, but in a way also explains why the Kiri Afghana sugar mill disaster may have happened in the first place. That water will flow down the river, and reach the areas fed by it, would appear to be common sense; and it does not take biotech expertise to realise that the untold quantities of dead fish in a river will wreak havoc. Yet, no authority took any steps to prevent the obvious.

The location of the sugar mill — not far from the river, and right next to a natural drain leading down to the river — combined with the voluminous quantities of foul liquid such industries hold, was a disaster waiting to happen. Reports of improper disposal of effluents by industries are common, but rarely is any particular instance nailed by competent authorities, and all such suspicions are allowed to remain just that. It would not be a great stretch of imagination if one were to draw a connection between successive governments turning a blind eye to the reckless attitude towards effluent management and the fact that owners of nearly all sugar mills and distilleries are politically connected moneybags.

The ham-handedness displayed by the government following the incident has exposed the system’s complete lack of competence to comprehend the enormity of the disaster, and also to take any measures beyond issuing statements, mostly aimed at containing panic rather than the fallout. The limitations of the legal provisions to deal with the situation may also be revealed over the coming days as ridiculously low fines and penalties may be imposed on the mill owners. Water pollution, whether in the rivers or natural drains and ponds, or even in the ground, has been a cause of concern in the state for decades now. It is time the government demonstrated it is aware of that.