The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday requested the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to take urgent and effective measures to cleanse rivers, rivulets, canals, drains etc of severe pollution and contamination of waters being caused by untreated waste of industry, cities etc.The party delegation, led by the leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Sukhpal Khaira and including five MlAs, submitted a representation in this regard to PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu to initiate appropriate strict and immediate corrective measures to cleanse the “poison” being spread in Punjab’s rivers, canals, drain etc.
The delegation, comprising Mansa MlA Nazar Singh Mansahia, Maur MlA Jagdev Singh Kamalu, Kotakpura MlA Kultar Singh Sndhwan, Bathinda Rural Rupinder Kaur Ruby, and jaiton MlA Master Baldev Singh, also suggested that a cancer survey should also be conducted around vicinity of all major industries of Punjab to find out quantum of terminal diseases being spread due to discharge of bad affluent both over and below the ground.
AAP also urged for strict measures to check air pollution being generated by the industry causing people blindness and other ailments like lung diseases etc.The party also expressed hope that the pollution board would act swiftly to cleanse the ‘Kali-Bein’ of Kapurthala as the 550 years birth celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev is coming up shortly and the ‘Kali Bein’ is historically connected to our first Guru Sahib.
The representation stated that the colour of our rivers, canals, rivulets, drains etc has changed to black “due to unchecked waste of various types being discharged with impunity”.
The latest example of such poisonous discharge came to light due to the Chadha Industry spillage incident that caused colossal damage to our ecology, besides killing lakhs of fish and other aquatic animals in the river Beas, it stated adding that the incident brought to centrestage the burning issue of poisonous waters flowing in our rivers and the canals of the state.
The party pointed that it has received “alarming calls from different parts of the state with people complaining about contaminated water flowing in the canals and also dangerous levels of pollution in the ground water”.
“We made a special spot visit to Khudian Pul in lambi constituency to inspect the quality of water flowing in the two canals of Sirhind feeder and the Rajasthan feeder. To our utter surprise, water in both the canals that is used for drinking purposes in the Malwa region as well as Rajasthan, was severely contaminated and blackish in colour,” it added.
Besides visiting Buddah-Nullah in ludhiana at a point in Walipur village, the party leaders also visited Buttar Sivian village in Amritsar “where industrial waste and untreated water is being discharged into a drain by the Rana Sugars limited owned by a powerful Congress leader and former Minister”.
Khaira maintained that people complained of “various terminal diseases and blindness being caused due to unchecked fly ash coming out of the industry’s chimney. So is the case in the distillery division of Rana Sugars limited at lohke village in Taran Taran, where bad affluent are being discharged with impunity into the fields, ground and even panchayat land.”