Budha Nullah still toxic

Dramatically clean air and sparkling rivers, with the Ganga water even fit for consumption at certain places like in Hardwar, and a significant drop in air and water pollution levels have been the welcome side-effects of the coronavirus-driven lockdown. Curfew and curbs on travel and industry during the past few weeks have resulted in a marked reduction in the release of polluting effluents into the atmosphere and water bodies. Aerosol levels are at a 20-year low in north India, as per NASA satellite sensors, giving a breather to lakhs of people whose lungs and hearts are troubled by these tiny air particles. Central Pollution Control Board data suggests a 71 per cent fall in nitrogen dioxide levels and far better Air Quality Index in the congested cities. As nature reboots itself while our non-essential activity halts, the experience packs a punch for all the grandiose multi-crore schemes envisioned for decades to rid the planet of hazardous pollutants.

Sadly, amid this boon, the Budha Nullah of Ludhiana presents a picture of gloom. There is little improvement in the quality of water in this toxic vein of the city, though most of the nearly 2,000 industrial units and thousands of small hosiery and dying units are shut. Heaps of solid waste dot the surface as the water has receded drastically. The only discharge into it is the domestic wastewater, exposing the inefficacy of the city’s sewage treatment plants.

But it would be sadder if the authorities did not take the opportunity afforded by the lockdown to clean the nullah of poisonous heavy metals and other pollutants. Reports have indicated that while the Beas is cleaner now, the same is not the case with the Sutlej into which effluents from the nullah flow. It’s perhaps time to spend the Rs 650 crore announced by Punjab for rejuvenating the nullah in its Budget in February. Cleaning this drain, a huge health hazard, should be a priority along with the reopening of the industry. The nullah is crying to be restored to its pristine glory, when it was the ‘Budha Dariya’. Choking a water body will mean taking away the life-breath of a vibrant city.