Will Buddha Nullah become Buddha Dariya again?

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 4

Another ‘World Environment Day’ is being celebrated across the world but it seems the message of the day is totally defeated here.

Reason: Untreated sewage, industrial effluents, waste from dairy complexes and solid waste are dumped into Buddha Nullah, which was earlier known as Buddha Dariya.

Thousands of fish and aquatic animals were found dead in the Beas after the molasses from a sugar mill at Kiri Afgana were released into the river recently, giving a wake up call to the government. The Punjab Pollution Control Board reportedly sealed the mill and slapped a fine of Rs5 crore on it after the incident.

However, in Ludhiana, industrial effluents, untreated sewage, dairy and solid waste are dumped into Buddha Nullah, which meets the Sutlej near Walipur Kalan, without any check by the authorities concerned. The nullah has been polluting the Sutlej for decades.

According to residents, there were many species of fish and aquatic animals in Buddha Dariya when its water was clean. Poisonous water has killed countless fish and aquatic animals. But even after decades, the government did nothing to make the nullah pollution-free, residents claimed. In the past two decades, Buddha Nullah has just become an election issue for political parties in Punjab. The residents want to see it as a channel of clean water.

Besides, the nullah has also polluted groundwater in the area alongside it, leaving residents to suffer.

Polluted water of the Sutlej is causing health problems for people in some parts of Rajasthan and Punjab. Residents of Walipur Kalan, Walipur Khurd, Talwandi Nau Abad, Kot Umra, Gaunspur and other villages have urged the government to stop pollution of the nullah as a large number of hepatitis cases have been reported there. They want action be taken against the dyeing units polluting the nullah.

Need to upgrade infrastructure

Three sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Bhattian, Jamalpur and Balloke are not sufficient to treat the entire sewage generated in the city. A major project, abatement of pollution in Buddha Nullah, is hanging fire. Earlier, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu had stated that the industrial waste in Ludhiana would be treated at three common effluent treatment plants (CETP) and the STPs would be upgraded soon. Superintending Engineer of MC Ravinder Garg said the plan to upgrade the STPs was under consideration of the government. Multiple studies have been done on the Buddha Nullah, but a final decision would be taken by the government, he said.