Pollution in Tung Dhab: Residents want Ludhiana-like action against Amritsar MC

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, July 29

A day after the NGT asked the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to deposit Rs 100 crore as interim compensation for creating pollution, city residents have demanded that the tribunal should also take a similar action against the Amritsar Municipal Corporation for its failure to contain pollution in the Tung Dhab drain.

The NGT’s monitoring committee with regard to control of pollution in the drain had recommended several measures to check air and water pollution, but compliance is missing. Rajpreet Singh, local resident

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“The monitoring committee constituted by the NGT to control pollution in the drain had recommended several measures to check air and water pollution, but compliance is missing,” said Rajpreet Singh, a local resident.

The committee suggested various measures to control pollution in the drain, including plugging of the MC’s discharge outlet on the Majitha road, at the intermediate pumping station on the Batala road, release of 150-200 cusec water from the Jethuwal canal to the drain and dredging of sludge (cleaning) of the drain. It recommended a regular cleaning of floating material in the drain, such as plastic bags, household waste and stopping the discharge of waste water being released by diaries into it.

The committee had also advised long-term measures to control pollution in the drain like shifting of dairies situated along it, installation of an effluent treatment plant (ETP) and a bio-gas plant in a designated area, stopping of effluent of villages situated in the drain’s catchment area, such as Verka, Pandori Waraich, Pandori Lubana, Nag Kalan, Bal Kalan, etc, and installation of CETP for the industries situated along the catchment area of the drain.

Nirmal Singh, another citizen, said most of these recommendations remained on paper. The NGT must take note of it.

The committee had held meetings with district officials on October 11, 2019, and October 10, 2020. They held a meeting with them on June 8, 2020, for compliance of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016. For the city’s treatment of sewage, they held a video-conference on January 13 last year.

The drain, which originates from Talwandi Bharat village that falls in adjoining Gurdaspur district, is about 38 km long. It enters the district from Pandori Lubana village and merges into the Hudiara drain at Khiala Kalan village near Ramtirath area.

The drain carries water discharged by the MC from its disposal points situated on Majitha Road (near ESI Hospital) as well as by residential areas and villages which fall outside the MC limits at Fatehgarh Churian Road, Majitha Road, Loharka Roads and Ajnala Roads. The report stated that untreated effluent and solid waste coming from nearly 107 diaries located on the Dera Baba Darshan Singh-Majitha Road stretch was also being discharged into it. The drain also carried the treated effluent of industries located on Verka Road, Batala Road, Majitha Road and Ajnala Road. The drain water merges into the Hudiara drain, which ultimately enters Pakistan.

After the intervention of MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, the monitoring committee comprising officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, an NGO and representatives of the Amritsar Textile Processors’ Association was formed. Aujla said the findings of the committee were with the CM’s office. Besides, he also gave a memorandum to CM Bhagwant Mann in this regard a few days ago.