Fencing has been installed on the Ghaggar bridge near Sector 23 in Panchkula. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL
Ravneet Singh
Panchkula, January 3
Following the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) orders, the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has begun the installation of fences on the Ghaggar bridge adjacent to Sectors 23 and 3 to prevent people from dumping garbage in the river or immersing religious idols in it.
NGT orders
- Panchkula DC, in a report to the NGT last year, had assured the body that a police team would be deployed to check the immersion of idols and penalise those who stop their vehicles on the bridge
- The HSVP has also decided to install fences at the site to prevent people from accessing the river. HSVP XEN NK Payal said that, following the NGT’s orders, fences are being installed on thebridge
It may be recalled that a husband-wife duo, Sukhwinder and Meenu, had filed a complaint with the NGT in August 2022, seeking a ban on the immersion of idols in water bodies that are not eco-friendly. They had noted that the immersion of such idols was polluting the river.
Sukhwinder, a resident of Sector 23 in Panchkula, said they had earlier approached the Panchkula Municipal Corporation and the HSVP in that regard, but to no avail. He said, “Numerous residents of Panchkula, Dhakoli and other areas come and throw garbage in the Ghaggar river from the overbridge on a regular basis. People come and dump religious idols and other offerings in the river. It pollutes the river.”
His wife, Meenu, said people dump garbage and other items in the river despite the fact that the Central Pollution Control Board had previously suggested barricading spaces for idol immersion in a river stretch and suggested a separate disposal of waste.
As a result of the complaint, Panchkula’s deputy commissioner, in a report to the NGT last year, assured the body that a police team will be deployed to check the immersion of idols and penalise those who stop their vehicles on the bridge.
The HSVP has also decided to install fences at the site to prevent people from accessing the river. HSVP XEN NK Payal said that, following the NGT’s orders, fences are being installed on the sides of the bridge. “We had floated a tender for the installation of a fence worth Rs 80 lakh. The work has been started, and it is expected to be complete by the end of February,” Payal added.
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