Farmers threaten to plug Buddha Nullah on Dec 3

Poisonous canal water flowing into 10 districts of west Rajasthan from Punjab has made area prone to cancer, say farmer leaders

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, Updated At : 07:38 AM Oct 19, 2024 IST

Representatives of farmer organisations from Rajasthan and activists from Punjab participate in a meeting at Sriganganagar.

The ‘Zehar se Mukti’ programme found support from Punjab activists during a meeting held in the new grain market in Sriganganagar late last evening.

Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS) spokesperson Advocate Subhash Sehgal and Sanyukta Beopar Mandal’s former president Krishan Meel who presided over the meeting told The Tribune today that poisonous canal water flowing into 10 districts of west Rajasthan from Punjab had made the area prone to cancer, besides affecting farm produce.

Punjabi film director Amitoj Mann and Bathinda-based social worker Lakhvir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana supported the call for reaching Ludhiana on December 3 for direct action to plug Buddha Nullah. The meeting also resolved to organise bandh in Sriganganagar on November 9 on the issue.

Amitoj Mann said Buddha Nullah, near Ludhiana, had turned into a drain of dirty water. “Dirty water from industrial units and sewerage is released into the nullah. About 9 crore litres of dirty and chemical-laced water is then poured into the Sutlej. Despite several agitations by the public, the Punjab Government, Punjab Pollution Control Board and National Green Tribunal (NGT) had practically done nothing more than imposing fines. It was decided to close the illegal factories on Buddha Nullah last August, but these factories are still running. It is better for us to fight for the cause rather than die from serious diseases in future. We must plan to provide pure water for coming generations,” Mann said.

Sidhana said dirty water was as dangerous for Rajasthan as it was for the people of Punjab. “There is a need for widespread unity on the issue. Also, the medical drugs business is being carried out in a planned manner in Punjab and the neighbouring areas of Haryana and Rajasthan. Youths below 20 years of age are being pushed into this quagmire,” Sidhana said.

Maninder Singh Mann, convener of the ‘Zehar se Mukti’ campaign, said efforts would be made to take the fight against dirty water to other districts of Rajasthan. Nearly 1.75 crore people in 7,500 villages use this water for drinking from Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGNP) alone.

Sehgal said successive governments in Punjab had been announcing programmes to clean the Buddha Nullah, but black water was ominously snaking into the Sutlej.