EXPLAINER: How the Tung Dhab drain became a bane for residents of Amritsar

Dug in 1955 to prevent floods, the Tung Dhab stormwater drain, also known as Hudiara drain, has become an unending source of inconvenience and a host of health problems for residents of this border district.

Originating from Gurdaspur, it passes through the centre of Amritsar city and falls into Lahore’s Hudiara drain, which merges into the Ravi river. Being a stormwater drain, it cannot be covered as per the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal.

The problems residents face

A foul smell emanating from the choked drain has become a bane for residents. Over the past few decades, numerous studies point towards the presence of highly toxic metals and release of gasses from the drain, yet the fast-paced urbanisation has resulted in mushrooming of numerous residential colonies along the drain in the vicinity of the Amritsar-Attari bypass. These were regularised in 2013 by the then SAD-BJP government and the trend is continuing.

Ironically, several eminent persons, including former Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, reside in localities along the drain.

Manmeet Singh Dhillon, a resident of Anmol Enclave, located close to the nullah, said polluted effluents in the drain emit strong pungent smell throughout the year, which becomes more intense in the summer season. Apart from human health, its disastrous impacts are visible on all household electronic gadgets, fridge, AC, television and others. These frequently develop snags, requiring repair and maintenance, thereby increasing the cost of living.

Harsmiran Singh, a resident of Amardas colony on the road, said to prevent bad odour from entering their houses, they keep their doors and windows closed. Besides, they frequently need to spend money on getting their appliances repaired.

What is polluting the drain

About 550 kilolitres per day (KLD) waste is discharged by 170 dairies along with livestock dung and other animal waste that is routed through the drain. Similarly, industries discharge millions of litres of polluted effluents per day into the drain, causing fermentation. These industrial effluents mix with dairy waste.

Residents say the operationalisation of two Sewerage Treatment Plants (STP) at Khapar Kheri and Baserke Bhani villages to clean effluents in the nullah did not elicit the desired results. Set up under a Union Government scheme funded by the JICA, these STPs are supposed to detoxify and clean the nullah.

Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said unless the mixing of effluents is stopped, there is no use of undertaking any development project. He says the STPs are capable of treating only residential waste, whereas the drain receives effluents from three separate categories — dairies, industries and houses. These sources of the waste need to be separated for treatment.

The drain that was meant to carry storm water is receiving domestic, industrial, diary and agricultural untreated solid waste, leading to contamination of groundwater. Harmful gases emanating from the drain not only cause health issues but also lead to breakdown of household electrical appliances. The gases damage the copper pipes in the gadgets like air-conditioners and refrigerators in a couple of years, leaving no option at hand but to replace these, he said.

Can the problem be tackled

Over the years several studies were carried out by experts from different parts of the country. These found that the cause of pollution to be fumes emitted by the drain and mixing of dairy waste with chemical-laced effluents discharged by industries.

Officials of the PPCB are required to keep a check on industries so that only treated water is released from their units. The issue of cleaning the nullah is lying with the government, they added.

Cleaning of high toxic elements and effluents from the Tung Dhab drain remains a distant dream. In 2019, the government had announced that the drain would be cleaned under the ‘Mission Tandrust Punjab’. Earlier, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, visits of which were then arranged by Navjot Singh Sidhu, had backed out of the project of cleaning the drain after its experts found it to be having alarmingly high effluent levels and high toxic elements.

Citizens lament that there is no punitive action against the erring industries while expectations of a green and clean environment along the four-lane road have disappeared after the NEERI backed out of the proposed project.