Seechewal takes up pollution issue with MC officials

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 9

Due to the increasing pollution in the Kala Sanghian drain, Environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal today took up the issue with the MC officials.

He said the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) built at a cost of Rs 50 crore was lying non-functional.

Seechewal met MC Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira, PPCB Superintending Engineer Sandeep Bahl, XEN ML Chauhan, among other officials, at the corporation office here today.

He said there was 50 MLD treatment plant Basti Peerdaad at Basti Peerdad, of which only 13 MLD was being treated. He said the rest of the water was falling into the Kal Sanghian drain.

The environmentalist also showed photographs of the pollution in the drain to officials. He also visited the STP at the leather complex along with officials and demanded that the work on the STP should begin soon.

About one and a half years ago, a temporary bundh at the Kala Sanghian drain had been employed to route water to the STP and the sewerage board had taken the responsibility to oversee the effectiveness of the system. While the bundh eventually broke due to rains, none of the officials bothered to erect a new one due to which all untreated water kept mixing in the drains waters.

Sant Daya Singh from Tahli Sahab Gurdwara and residents from neighbouring villages also said on the occasion that bad waters were dirtying the drain again. They said the smell form the drain had made their lives miserable.

Daya Singh said from the year 2008, residents of the area had been struggling to rid the Kala Sanghian drain of pollutants, in which a lot of success had also been achieved, but they said there were lapses in the work done by the administration.

Time and again the water of the Kala Sanghian Drain is said to be poisoned by dirty water, resulting in bad smell and diseases for residents.

While the PPCB officials had claimed that the water was being treated, many a time, villagers had alleged that dirty water was being released into the Kala Sanghian drain at night. Residents of Gazipur and Chamiara villages close to the drain had also recently made the claims.