‘Environment should be a key poll issue in Punjab’

Amritsar, February 4

The Punjab Environmental Awareness Movement organised a public meeting at Sant Singh Sukha Singh Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, Amritsar, to give priority to the public manifesto on environment during the Punjab Assembly elections. It was organised by Panthik Talamel Sangathan and Akal Purakh Ki Fauj.

Various candidates contesting the Punjab Assembly elections were invited to participate and implement eight issues in the manifestos of their respective political parties. There should be a complete ban on pollution of rivers and water resources. The organisations demanded a clean environment by preventing air pollution. There should be a complete solution to the problem of waste in cities. Increase the forest cover in Punjab to at least 10 per cent of the total area and ensure proper maintenance of floodplains near wetlands and rivers.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board should become an autonomous body of public accountability and work administratively and legally to ensure effective implementation of the Prevention of Pollution Act, 1974, Air Pollution Act, 1981, and Environmental Protection Act, 1986.

Political parties were also invited on the occasion. Navjot Singh Sidhu, President, Punjab Congress; Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, Aam Aadmi Party; Gurpartap Singh Tikka, president, Shiromani Akali Dal Badal Urban; Gurpreet Singh Pradhan of United Akali Dal and United Social Front Sukhjinder Singh, who received the manifesto, also expressed his commitment and said that we will work for the environment.

Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, a Padam Shree awardee, said environmental degradation due to material progress has taken place almost all over the world and science has proved that this climate change is leading to the extinction of human civilisation.

Giani Kewal Singh, former Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, lamented that the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 had made major decisions to curb global warming but most countries had not implemented them. Although US President Joe Biden has apologised for withdrawing from the Paris Agreement in 2017, the delay is a sign of doom.

Kahan Singh Pannu, a former officer, “As Punjab is agriculture-oriented state, clean air and water is a major contributor to its economy and culture. The sustainability of agriculture requires balanced use of fertilizers and chemicals used in the fields, but the race for higher yields has poisoned the Earth. Of these, only 1,600 million liters are treated in 128 cities”.