Probe widens into toxic waste dumping in Sirsa river system in Punjab

The Ropar police have widened their probe into alleged toxic waste dumping in the Sirsa river system, issuing notices to scrap dealers operating illegally from the Bhud rivulet riverbed in Nawanagar and Maddali villages, amid concerns that hazardous waste could ultimately reach the Sutlej and Punjab’s canal network.

Ropar city SHO Pawan Kumar said all scrap dealers found operating from the riverbed had been served notices and directed to join the investigation in Ropar.

The probe follows an FIR registered on the complaint of AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha against unidentified industrial units allegedly responsible for polluting the Sirsa and Sutlej rivers. The FIR was lodged after large quantities of suspected toxic industrial waste and floating garbage accumulated at Ropar Headworks.

During a recent inspection by Chadha, Punjab Pollution Control Board officials and the police, several waste dumps were found along the Bhud rivulet and other tributaries of the Sirsa river. Biomedical waste, including used syringes and discarded medicines, was also reportedly found.

Officials suspect heavy rains and flash floods could wash the waste into the Sirsa river and eventually the Sutlej, posing environmental and public health risks.