OPEN HOUSE: What should be done to wake up leaders from their slumber to address environmental issues?

Integrated approach need of the hour

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It is strange that the government who is operating economy itself doesn’t consider the significant issues pertaining to environment degradation and depleting water table that can cause much damage to our economy in coming years. Instead of creating awareness among masses about how to preserve our environment, authorities are giving speeches on absurd topics. Everyone knows water table is depleting and it should be the most serious issue for the government right now. But unfortunately political parties are busy in doing campaigns and rallies to purchase votes by giving meagre amounts and tall claims to public. During the elections, important issues are being ignored. It is travesty that they are just relying on temporary victory on the cost of long term damage. Issues related to ozone layer depletion, global warming, depletion of water table, air pollution have been just sidelined by administration. It’s high time for authorities to wake up from their slumber to address these important issues so that our environment can be preserved in best possible way. Also, general public need to choose candidate who talks on above issues and is capable to solve environment related problems. Obviously, one person cannot protect whole environment as it is an integrated approach of both government and public.

Sukhmeet Kaur

Check rising water pollution in Malwa

Environmental concerns in Punjab such as rising air and water pollution have so far remained non-issues in the Assembly elections. Judging from the candidates’ poll campaign it seems the time when elections in the state will be fought on environmental issues is far away. However, pressure groups of young voters and the middle class should force the candidates contesting state assembly elections to address such important issues. Media, public and political discourses have it in them to wake the candidates up from their slumber to raise the issues of environment and water conservation in the elections this time. The citizens should exercise their votes in favour of such candidates who feel or think like them about the environment and water conservation. No water conservation, no votes based campaign should be started by the people democratically to boycott the elections to send a clear message to the political leaders. The option of NOTA should be made use of if a candidate does not take up the issue of environment and water conservation. In the Malwa belt of Punjab, the water table is abysmally low; water is brackish and contaminated with pesticides. Candidates contesting from there should be asked what plan they have up their sleeves to augment or improve clean water resources in the Malwa region. Navjot Singh Sidhu is flaunting his own novel Punjab Model to implement if his party wins. He should be asked to explain if his so-called Punjab Model includes environment and water conservation issues. Only then the candidates will treat these important issues as primary and not secondary ones.

Tarsem S Bumrah

Support candidates who raise green issues

Depleting water table and pollution in environment is cause of concern for everyone except our politicians. It is an important issue and candidates contesting elections should definitely be awakened regarding this from their slumber. First of all, residents should form a core committee of its representatives on this issue who in turn address their concerns to politicians and create awareness amongst them to do something to stop these problems. Secondly when ever any politician goes for door-to-door campaign in their respective constituencies, the local residents should raise these issues forcibly and seek remedies for it on each and every visit of politician. Lastly any politician who raises these important issues on large scale in elections and taking remedies on assumption of power should be encouraged and lured by voters by assuring votes in his/her favour.

SANJAY CHAWLA

Cut water pollution, conserve every drop

In today’s era, the environment and water conservation has been a big fuss in the locality. Though the candidates ensure the citizen’s safety, the environmental cause seems to be missing from their issues. How will the world survive if a person cannot afford pure water and breathe fresh air! The candidates must create awareness about environment and water conservation through their election campaigns, to reach out to the citizens. They should come up with the ideas of rainwater harvesting, forest belts, use of alternative energy resources etc. It is rightly said, “A small change in human can do great wonders.”

Nimish Sehgal

Environmental issues not given importance

The quality of the air we all are breathing, the rising AQI, is no one’s baby. Rampant felling of trees and wood burning in crematoriums in spite of the availability of gas powered machines, the law of jungle that prevails on city roads do not figure on any party’s programme. Foot paths, if any, have become property of the shopkeepers. Pedestrians are a harried lot. Development projects, if any, like the one in Amritsar South, are deliberately allowed to hang on, without any reason, in order to convert them into an issue with likely votes. In colonies like Kote Baba Deep Singh, all streets were dug up, at a snail’s pace in February last year for replacing water supply and sewerage lines but never filled up or re-paved till date. Plethora of dangling cable and power lines are an eye sore for discerning onlookers. Most importantly, more and more tube wells are sunk or replaced without bothering about the fast plummeting water line. Nothing has been heard of the plan to ensure constant supply from the Upper Bari Doab Canal flowing through the city. Not even 1% households or factories have any rain water harvesting system. I think railway workshop is perhaps the only organisation to have a good and functioning water recharge system. Any suggestion to revise water charges and penalise wastage is laughed at. Even more serious issues of the state like exodus of youth to Australia/Canada, unemployment, health and education etc are never all even touched in any constituency. Four or five cornered contests are there on almost every seat. Voters are confused. I think there is a method in this madness. The positive change which the electorate has been expecting all these years is not in the offing.

MOHAN SINGH

Declining water table a serious problem

Sidelining crop diversification, paddy-wheat cycle, poor implementation of rain harvest schemes, cement lining of canals, deep tube wells, submersible motors at home, unregulated pumping of water from tubewells are the major reasons responsible for depleting water table. Free water and electricity for agriculture sector, sowing paddy, neglecting crop diversification, due to free water the consumption of water has increased the problem manifold. Similarly, the cement lining of canals has halted recharging of groundwater. The declining water table is a very serious issue and the leaders of political parties should also raise it so that the new government takes steps to frame policies for increasing water table. Apart from this in the past in Malwa area the drinking water was not fit for drinking, the government took initiative to install RO’s. Earlier, there was a major problem of water logging in Malwa area which was amicably resolved by taking steps by constructing drains. Similarly if we will not be serious on declining water table then the areas of Doaba can witness acute shortage of water in coming years and the water table level will fall to unexpected levels which can convert the fertile agriculture areas to deserts.

RAJAT KUMAR MOHINDRU

Parties not familiar with such issues

As we know that already there is depletion in the water table and the water is becoming scarce in certain areas, the time of elections could be a great way to help conserve water. The parties could take up the initiative to maintain and increase the level of the water table but not let it deplete. This will encourage the people to vote for them for taking up good initiatives. There will be profits both ways, the parties could get elected and also the water table could go back to normal and there is no scarcity of water. But, the main point is that some parties are not familiar with these kinds of issues and are not taking up these kinds of initiatives. They are lost in their slumber and to wake them up from their slumber, we should make them aware about these issues first so that they can help take up these initiatives. In the end I would like to say that the parties must be made aware which would help us solve the rising water problem.

Sanidhya Bhaskar

Not on priority list of traditional parties

Since Independence, Punjab is governed by two mainstream parties which are Congress and SAD and unfortunately conservation and protection of environment and ecology were never their priorities. Punjab which derives its glorious name from five rivers is now struggling with falling water table. In the past two decades, the groundwater in Punjab has been falling at the rate of 25-30 cm a year. At this rate, the state will turn into a desert in the next 25 years only. As regards the status of forest and trees coverage, it is dismal low as 6.87% only against national average of 24.56%. Of late, Sh. Balbir Singh Seechewal, an environmentalist, has taken up the matter with the public to raise the environmental issues with all political parties in view of ensuing state elections. But unfortunately the subject appears to have taken back seat in view of prevailing massive corruption triggered by mafia rule in almost every revenue-generating fields of the state. Given the circumstances, it is futile to expect any change from the traditional political parties which are hitherto responsible for financial mess leading to 3 lakh crore debt on the exchequer and no financial support for environmental health of state will be viable.

JAGDISH CHANDER

Water is the elixir of life

It’s no doubt that environmental degradation is the worldwide issue and so is the issue of water scarcity and conservation. In India both these subjects are of extreme importance. The forests are being destroyed and so are the Amazon forests in Brazil. Trees are being uprooted to make way for the roads and building housing colonies. The builders of these colonies pay election funds to the political parties. Increasing population and increasing number of vehicles are the cause of polluting environment and water scarcity. The political parties and their leaders are not at all interested in raising these issues and also making public aware of the future ill-effects of the environmental degradation and lowering water table. They are interested only in vote catching and making money.

Dr JS Wadhwa

QUESTION

It’s election time and political parties are leaving no stone unturned in garnering maximum support they can. They rope in VIPs to campaign for them, but it is the common man that bears the brunt as every now and then roads are blocked for smooth passage of these VIPs. What should be done to end this practice or find a way out to end common man’s woes, especially during VIP movement?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (February 3)