Over 40 more pollution points found along Buddha Nullah

A government survey has identified at least 43 more points from where effluents flow into the Buddha Nullah here. With this, 241 pollution points have been recorded in the latest survey undertaken by the Drainage Department. Earlier, 198 points from where pollutants flow into 44 water bodies were identified in Ludhiana.

In Ludhiana, 127 pollution points have been identified upstream and downstream Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej. The constant flow of pollutants into the nullah is a major dampener in its rejuvenation.

All 43 newly identified pollution points are within the MC limits. The survey report, a copy of which is with The Tribune, mentions the longitude and latitude of all pollution points to coordinate their GPS locations on the map.

Environmentalist Col Jasjit Gill (retd), who is spearheading a sustained campaign to free Buddha Nullah of pollution, said the government should act fast to block all identified pollution points to save the Sutlej tributary.

Meanwhile, the discharge of treated effluents from three common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) into the Buddha Nullah continued without any check on Monday as well.

This was despite the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) recent orders to immediately stop such discharge into the nullah. The PPCB acted after over a month of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) directions.

PPCB Chairman Adarsh Pal Vig told The Tribune on the phone that he would seek a report from the field staff and decide on further action as per legal provisions to ensure strict implementation of the ban.

On the other hand, Kale Pani Da Morcha, a civil society movement that is waging a war against widespread water pollution, has decided to give some more time to the enforcement agencies for the implementation of the PPCB ban before forcibly stopping the flow of effluents into the Sutlej tributary.

“Though it seems the government and the agencies concerned have risen from their deep slumber, we will not let it go till there is no flow of pollutants into the nullah,” morcha activist Kuldeep Khaira said.

Earlier, the morcha had given a call for launching a sustained movement to forcibly stop the effluent discharge into the Sutlej tributary from October 1 by launching a public protest against the government and the agencies concerned.