On R-Day, activists hold dharna over water pollution

Activists from various organisations staged a dharna at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk on Republic Day, protesting the state government’s failure to prevent water pollution in the Sutlej River caused by the polluted Buddha Nala in Ludhiana.

The protesters highlighted that Dr BR Ambedkar, through the Constitution, granted fundamental rights to citizens, but both state and central governments have failed to provide clean drinking water. They pointed out that contaminated water, laced with harmful chemicals from Ludhiana’s Buddha Nala, has been causing serious health issues, including cancer and skin diseases, yet the government has not taken effective action.

The activists also emphasised the severe pollution of the Sutlej River, primarily due to the industrial waste dumped into Buddha Nala by numerous factories in Ludhiana. They accused industrialists and government officials of being indifferent to the suffering of the people. Speakers at the protest, including Tejinder Singh Khalsa, Kamal Kishore Khurana, and Rajan, called for immediate solutions to address this public health crisis.