Ludhiana on edge as Buddha Nullah activists march towards dyeing units

Tension gripped Ludhiana today as thousands of activists from the Kale Pani Da Morcha (KPDM) gathered near the Verka Milk Plant on Ferozepur Road around 11 am to march towards Tajpur Road. Their aim was to block the discharge lines of dyeing units that, they alleged, were releasing untreated effluents into the Buddha Nullah.

On the opposite side, an almost equal number of workers of dyeing units and other industries assembled on Tajpur Road and Bahadurke Road to protect their common effluent treatment plants (CETPs). The workers spread across all connecting roads leading to the CETPs to thwart KPDM activists from disrupting operations.

A tributary of the Sutlej flowing through Ludhiana, the Buddha Nullah has turned into a toxic drain due to unchecked pollution, posing a risk to public health and the environment.

Amid escalating tensions, the district administration deployed a huge posse of police, including anti-riot units, and set up heavy barricades on Ferozepur Road where the activists had gathered and were shouting slogans.

Nearly 50 KPDM members, including RTI activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira, were taken into preventive custody. Talking to The Tribune, Khaira said he was detained at Division Number-8 police station and Dr Amandeep Bains, another prominent activist, at Kailash police post. He said several female activists were taken to the Dugri police station.

Lakha Sidhana, a social activist who had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha election from Bathinda, conveyed on his Facebook page that the police had detained his supporters and even made “several house arrests”.

Actor and screenwriter Amitoj Mann too joined the activists around noon. The activists claimed they had been forced to launch the KPDM campaign as the authorities had “failed” to clean the Buddha Nullah and the people had been drinking contaminated water for the past two decades.

On the other side, thousands of industrial workers gathered on Tajpur Road to counter the KDPM activists. The dyeing industry had arranged special vehicles to bring in the workers. The police had barricaded all roads leading to Tajpur Road and no vehicular movement was allowed within 1-km radius of the CETPs.

After several hours of chaos, a few KPDM activists, accompanied by the police, reached a spot near the CETPs around 4 pm, only to symbolically put a handful of sand in the nullah to “plug” the discharge lines.

The protesters dispersed later in the day following an assurance from the administration as ADC Amarjit Singh Bains reached the protest site. DC Jitendra Jorwal said action would be taken against the polluting units as per the directions of the NGT and the PPCB. The industrialists too let their workers return once the situation normalised. Those detained were also released in the evening.