Jawaharlal Nehru canal turns into garbage dump in Rohtak

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, January 16

The water of Jawaharal Nehru canal in the district is becoming dirty as people are immersing broken idols of deities, ‘Sindoor’, clothes, incense burners and food items into the canal.

Waste strewn everywhere

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Heaps of garbage can be seen lying in every nook and corner of the canal. The area located adjacent to the Delhi road is the worst. People stop their vehicles on the flyover and dump whatever they want into the canal. — Deepak Chhara, Environmentalist

Nets placed at various places

Nets were also put up at some places to prevent the throwing of material into the canal, but these have been removed in view of the repair works being carried out in the canal. — Arun Munjhal, Executive engineer, Irrigation

The canal passes through scores of villages and its water is used for irrigation and drinking purposes. Locals have approached the district authorities, demanding to take measures to keep the canal water clean.

Mukesh, a resident, said “The main reason for the water getting polluted water is the material used to perform religious rituals as all these are later immersed in the canal water. Some people even throw salt, sugar, rakhi bands, plastic items, incense sticks and clothes into the canal.” A group of educationists, environmentalists and students has also launched a special campaign “Suno Nahro Ki Pukar” in order to motivate people not to dump anything in the canal. The activists are cleaning the canal daily for two hours to ensure sanitation.

“The idea to run the campaign came when I spotted the people throwing broken idols, fabrics, sweets and other materials at the time of Navratras. It not only filled the canal with unused materials but also turned its clean water black,” said Hooda, Assistant Professor, Jat College, Rohtak.