Neck-deep in muck, rivers gasping for breath

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 18

Blackened water of the Sutlej river near Walipur Kalan village in Ludhiana district bears testimony to the havoc wreaked by the Buddha Nullah, once known as Buddha Dariya.

Over the decades, successive governments have failed to protect the Sutlej from the polluted nullah that has killed many species of fish and other aquatic life.

Dyeing units and other industries release untreated waste into the nullah. The Municipal Corporation, too, disposes of untreated sewer water into the nullah from different points in the city. The waste from dairy complexes located on the Hambran Road and the Tajpur Road is also dumped here.

The sewage treatment plants (STPs) under the MC at Bhattian, Jamalpur and Balloke are not adequate to treat the entire sewer water of the city. A plan to upgrade these STPs has been hanging fire for the past several years, while the project to set up a common effluent treatment plant for industries is incomplete. The effluent treatment plant project for dairy complexes has also not seen the light of day.

The residents of villages near the Sutlej, including Walipur Kalan, Ghumnewal, Talwandi Nau Abad and Gaunspur, have complained repeatedly that the nullah’s toxic water is polluting not only the river, but also the groundwater in these rural areas. Many hepatitis cases have been reported in these villages, the residents claim.

Following a complaint lodged with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the Punjab Government, claiming that Sutlej’s polluted water was causing health problems for people in Rajasthan, officials had visited the nullah several times in 2014, but nothing was done on the ground to curb pollution. The state government had asked Engineers India Limited to prepare a report on measures to check pollution in the nullah, but the project never took off.

Col Jasjit Singh Gill (retd), a representative of the Buddha Dariya Action Front, said, “The MC itself is among the offenders. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and other authorities concerned are not serious about curbing pollution. The city also has no storm-water drainage system that can stop rainwater from flowing into the sewer system.”

Congress MLA from Ludhiana East constituency Sanjay Talwar says, “We have appealed to the erring industries to stop polluting the water channel, but to no avail. There is a need to take strict action.”

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu admits that untreated sewer water is released into the nullah from some points as the STPs are yet to be upgraded. “We are making efforts to check pollution in the nullah. We would also take action against polluting industries,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, PPCB chief environmental engineer Pawan Garg could not be contacted.