Punjab villages pollute its rivers,PPCB ‘helpless’

When The Indian Express visited these villages along the banks of Sutlej,Ghaggar and Bhakhra river channels,the villages,including certain identified municipal councils and gram panchayats,were found discharging the waste straight into the flowing water. Dead animals and fish could be seen floating at numerous places,while women washed clothes without anyone checking them.

“They (the villagers) have been warned,several court cases are pending,and numerous letters have been written to various government departments,but nothing concrete has been done to check the flow of detergents,human waste and medical waste,” said a senior irrigation department officer who visited the sites along with The Indian Express team.

“In one such case filed by the irrigation department in Jandiali village almost a decade ago,a local court had ordered that the untreated discharge be stopped immediately. The residents then approached the high court,which restored the lower court’s order,” claimed an officer of the department who had filed the case.

Punjab Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon blamed the local bodies department for the menace,though he assured,“If the local bodies department fails to take action,we won’t allow any waste in our rivers at any cost and will take strict action.”

Almost a couple of months ago,the Macchiwara police had registered an FIR under Section 278 of the IPC against Jaspal,a villager,for throwing untreated water in a nearby canal,but the accused was let off by a local court after being fined Rs 500.

The residents of Sangrur,Rajpura and Khemkaran had recently complained to the health authorities that they were suffering from various diseases due to the consumption of contaminated water. For the last six decades,the people of this area have been drinking water containing excess fluoride.

Passing the buck on other departments,PPCB Member Secretary Babu Ram said they would take action if they found such violations,but the government should fix responsibility of other departments first. “I will ask my officers to look into the matter and locate such villages. As of now,I do not have any such report,” he added.

Contrary to this,a few kilometers away from the PPCB head office in Patiala,villages of Ajnauda,Kamrauda,Kalyan and Dadherha discharge untreated water waste into the Rajbaha canal along the Nabha Road.

Talking to The Indian Express,retired chief engineer (Canal) V K Mantrao pointed to the “rampant pollution” in Sirhind canal. “Due to political interference,even the PPCB has turned into a toothless tiger. As a result,polluted water flows freely in the Bathinda branch,Abohar branch,Siddhwan canal and the Patiala feeder.” He claimed that if a village was stopped from polluting the water sources,the local MLA would go out of the way to intervene and save the village.

The situation has come to such a head that numerous hand-pumps on the banks of Sirhind canal near Doraha are supplying dirty water. “We used to drink water straight from the rivers,but the quality of water has gone so bad in the last decade that even taking a bath in the river water can cause skin diseases,” complained Kulwant Singh,a villager.

PPCB chairman Rajat Aggarwal said they had taken concrete steps to check the flow of untreated water into Sutlej. “We will now concentrate on the other water bodies of Punjab. We have information on numerous panchayats,municipal committees and councils throwing their waste in the water channels and we will take stringent measures,” he assured.

According to rules,the irrigation department can act against anyone found throwing anything in the river water under the Punjab Minor Canals Act and directly send a challan to the civil court without having to file a police complaint.