J A L A N D H A R

Hyacinth threatens Kali Bein fauna

Sultanpur Lodhi, March 20 The Kali Bein’s pollution level is rising again. Hyacinth and algae are again threatening its fish and other fauna. Long stretches of the Bein in Kaputhala and Sultanpur Lodhi are green due to rapid growth of hyacinth and algae.

A carpet of algae in the Kali Bein in Sultanpur Lodhi is posing threat to aquatic life.—Photo by S.S. Chopra

Postal dept’s franchise
Jalandhar, March 20
After losing large chunk of business to private courier companies, the department of posts has finally pulled its socks and decided to extend franchise outlets and as a pilot project opened its first franchise in Maqsoodan locality of the city.

Notice to MC on sewage disposal
Jalandhar, March 20
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum today issued notice to Municipal Corporation for replying to a complaint pertaining to its failure to solve the problem of the residents of Basti Guzan and Bagh Ahluwalia where lanes and houses often get deluged with sewage water owing to backflow from pipes underneath 120-feet road here.

Hyacinth threatens Kali Bein fauna
Vishal Gulati
Tribune News Service

Sultanpur Lodhi, March 20
The Kali Bein’s pollution level is rising again. Hyacinth and algae are again threatening its fish and other fauna.

Long stretches of the Bein in Kaputhala and Sultanpur Lodhi are green due to rapid growth of hyacinth and algae.

The Bein travels 160 km after originating from near Dhanoa village, a few kilometres upstream of the Budho Barkat regulator in Hoshiarpur district. It finally merges with the Beas near Sultanpur Lodhi.

The Bein used to be one of the important tributaries of the Beas. It moved away from the Beas due to silt and westward flow of the river.

To revive the historic Bein, which has religious significance, especially for the Sikhs, the Kapurthala administration and volunteers led by the president of the Onkar Charitable Trust, Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, have done a mammoth exercise.

The entire stretch of the Bein was cleared off the weed and steps were taken to check the inflow of sewage. Even the encroachments by farmers along the Bein were removed to ensure the flow of the water. Even the administration ensured the regular flow of water into the Bein by directing 100 cusecs of water into it from the Mukerian hydel channel.

Sadly, the government is not serious in keeping the Bein free from pollutants, says Baba Seechewal. He says rivers and water bodies are precious resources that should be preserved at all costs.

“The Administration has promised to set up sewage-treatment plants in various towns on the banks of Bein, but nothing concrete has been done so far. As sewage of the towns and villages is released directly into the Bein, the pollution level is on the rise. At present, the Bein is a receptacle for domestic, agricultural and industrial wastes generated within its catchment,” he says.

“Besides, the de-weeding practice has not been adopted on a regular basis, resulting in the fresh growth of weeds,” he adds.

Dr Satnam Singh of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology says towns and villages situated on the banks of the Bein are more responsible for the pollution as the runway level is less. He says the presence of algae is an indication of the presence of high level of nutrients in the water. Most of the nutrients enter the water body through sewage.

According to a report prepared by the council, “A State of Environment, 2005”, during the past two decades, rapid industrialisation and agricultural practices have heavily polluted the fresh water sources in the state.

The report says the Sutlej, which enters Punjab near Nangal, is the most polluted river of the state. Its toxicity level is high at Nangal, Kiratpur Sahib, Ropar, Ludhiana and Gidderpindi village.

The report says at the Nangal headworks the water quality is generally class “A” with sufficient dissolved oxygen content.

Downstream, the river receives effluents from industries and municipal wastes. The water quality deteriorates from class “B” to “E”.

At Humbran village in Ludhiana district, where the Budha Nullah falls into the Sutlej, the water quality deteriorates to class “D” or “E”. The report says the river stretch from Ludhiana to Harike has been identified as the most polluted. The report says the Beas is comparatively less polluted. It enters Punjab at Talwara, where the quality of water is class “A”. The water gets polluted at Mukerian and Goindwal Sahib.

Besides industrial and municipal pollution, nutrients and pesticides run off from agricultural fields during the rainy season also enter the rivers.

Postal dept’s franchise

Jalandhar, March 20
After losing large chunk of business to private courier companies, the department of posts has finally pulled its socks and decided to extend franchise outlets and as a pilot project opened its first franchise in Maqsoodan locality of the city.

The franchise outlet, which recently started functioning, would include all the services provided by the post office and the department has entered into an agreement with the franchise for one year, senior superintendent of posts N.R. Meena said.

The department would open such outlets in the areas where there was no post office or sub-post office with in the radius of one km.

“To strengthen its functioning in the state, the department is opening such outlets in Amritsar, Chandigarh and Ludhiana in the initial stages,” he said.

Asked about the standard of the service in such outlets, he said it would be same as in the post offices run by the department because similar qualification and training had been stipulated for employees in the outlet. As per the arrangement, the contractor would bear the expenses for the building and the staff and the revenue would be shared, he said. — PTI

Notice to MC on sewage disposal
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service