Effluents continue to wreak havoc, most STPs dysfunctional

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 18

Despite efforts made by noted environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal to clean the holy Kali Bein at Sultanpur Lodhi, the state of Doaba rivulets has gone from bad to worse. The draining of industrial and domestic waste into water bodies is going unchecked. Most sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Jalandhar and Kapurthala are either non-functional or working below capacity.

While Chitti Bein eventually makes its way to the Sutlej, Kali Bein flows into the Beas. In Jalandhar, the primary source of pollution for Chitti Bein is waste from the Leather Complex and the Municipal Corporation, while Kali Bein is most polluted by waste dumped by some colonies near Rail Coach Factory, called “Bulane Diyan Colonian”.

Ahead of the 550th Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak, the cleaning of Kali Bein is a major challenge for the state government. It was at Sultanpur Lodhi that the Guru had spent several years. Residents say no efforts have been initiated so far, even as the year-long celebrations to commemorate the Guru’s birth anniversary are scheduled to be launched from Sultanpur Lodhi on November 23.

In December 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered the closure of 19 polluting tanneries in Jalandhar following a plea by Chamiyara villagers. During the Shahkot Assembly bypoll earlier this year, reviving the Kala Sanghian drain was one of the key poll issues for various villages, key being Seechewal, declaring that only the party promising provision of clean water shall be voted to power.

Seechewal said: “Domestic waste from colonies is polluting the Kali Bein. We have made numerous requests to the government to release at least 550 cusecs of water into the Bein from Mukerian Hydel Channel, but it is not bothered. The clean-up should begin on a war footing, keeping in mind the 550th Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak next year.”

A report submitted by Seechewal to the NGT, after a survey of 44 treatment plants on the Sutlej and Beas, states that all Jalandhar STPs, except the one at Jaitewali, are either non-functional or working way below capacity.