J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

PPCB shows red signal to garbage dump proposal
Kalanaur (Gurdaspur), May 16
The proposed solid waste dump, which was to be established in an area of 62 acres on a piece of land owned by the Kalanaur gram panchayat, has now finally been put on hold with the Punjab Pollution Control Board refusing to give it the green signal.

One held with heroin
Jalandhar May 16
The Anti-Narcotic Cell today arrested a person and recovered 300 grams of heroin from his possession. The accused was identified as Satnam Singh of Dolewal village in Fathegarh Sahib. Satnam Singh was to deliver the contraband to his clients in the Jail road area. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and nabbed the accused.

A police official shows the heroin seized from Satnam Singh (with covered face) in Jalandhar. A Tribune photo

PPCB shows red signal to garbage dump proposal
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Kalanaur (Gurdaspur), May 16
The proposed solid waste dump, which was to be established in an area of 62 acres on a piece of land owned by the Kalanaur gram panchayat, has now finally been put on hold with the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) refusing to give it the green signal.

Over the past few weeks, this non-descript township had become a nodal place where residents, NGOs and political parties pitched tents to lodge their protest against the setting up of the dump by the Punjab government. The venture had run into a series of controversies pertaining to its location and viability.

The reasoning of the locals against establishing the dump was that area was a flood prone area as it is situated near the Ravi river and the Sakki Nullah. Environmental experts had also expressed fears that in the event of a flood, there was all likelihood of an epidemic breaking out.

Sources reveal that the PPCB has denied the state government the requisite permission saying that the site of the dump was very close to the India-Pakistan border and no construction activity can take place in the area.

The dump was to receive waste from the districts of Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Amritsar before it is finally taken to the Solid Waste Treatment Plant at Pathankot. Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa, who was in the forefront of getting the project stalled, said “If PPCB had given the go-ahead, the area would have earned the sobriquet of ‘Garbage Town’ and relatives of people living in Kalanuar would have stopped coming to the town.

The fear of an epidemic would also have loomed large whenever there were floods in the Ravi and Sakki Nullah.” The Gurdaspur Member Parliament Partap Bajwa, too, had been visiting the town regularly telling residents that he will manage to persuade the state government to shelve the project.

A district administration official claimed, “The State government should have taken Panchayats of the area into confidence before embarking on the venture. The accumulation of solid waste can also have an effect on land value, create public nuisance apart from interfering with community life and development. Moreover, 74 Panchayats of the area had also passed a resolution opposing the dump.”

Randhawa, who castigated former Agriculture Minister S.S Langah for not listening to the grievances of people of the town, which formed a part of his former assembly segment of Dhariwal, said “I had already sounded out the authorities concerned in Chandigarh about the impending dangers of the project and I along with other senior Congressmen of the area have fought tooth and nail to ensure the dump is not established here.”

One held with heroin
Our Correspondent

Jalandhar May 16
The Anti-Narcotic Cell today arrested a person and recovered 300 grams of heroin from his possession.

The accused was identified as Satnam Singh of Dolewal village in Fathegarh Sahib. Satnam Singh was to deliver the contraband to his clients in the Jail road area. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and nabbed the accused.

During preliminary investigation, the accused revealed that he has been supplying heroin in Jalandhar and its periphery for the last few years, the police said. A case under relevant sections of the NDPS Act had been registered.