- विज्ञापन -
Delhi: The Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu on Saturday meets Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav discussed issues of incrfreasing pollution Ghaggar and Budha rivers in Punjab.
The Rajya Sabha member have recieved the positive resposne from Union Minister over the issue. The Miniter of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav a high level delegation of officers of the concerned departments on 19th January 2025 to discuss, access monitor and taking steps to controll the rising pollution in Punjab rivers.
Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu, who met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum to him on the polluted waters of Punjab, including Ghaggar and Budha rivers.
Satnam Singh Sandhu has been raising the issue of deteriorating condition of rivers in Punjab due to increasing pollution due to rapid industrialization and urbanization.
He also informed the Minister that these rivers were once a fresh water resource to thousands of peoples across Punjab which is now not even safe to touch.
Rising pollution is causing serious problems (such as increasing cases of cancer and other life-threatening diseases) that have affected people in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Due to the increasing level of pollution in Ghaggar and Budha rivers (other issues raised by MP Sandhu), destruction of various types of fish, decreasing number of migratory birds in the wetlands and cultivation of crops with contaminated water, fertile lands are becoming increasingly barren.
He said the Ghaggar river was badly polluted due to indiscriminate discharge of industrial effluents, untreated sewage and agricultural runoff.
These activities have significantly damaged water quality, leading to dangerous pollution levels and posing a serious threat to both human health and the environment.
Sandhu said the pollution situation is worsening due to lack of coordinated efforts among the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, each of which have contributed to the pollution.
He said that particularly in the cities of Dera Bassi and Patiala in Punjab, as well as in areas like Haryana, Mansa and Chandigarh, serious contamination of the river has been observed due to effluents from industries, especially soap factories, and municipal waste.
Discussing the serious pollution issues of Budha river in Ludhiana with the Union Minister, the Rajya Sabha member said that the rising pollution level in this water body of Punjab, a tributary of Sutlej river, is not only posing several health hazards (like cancer, skin diseases, gastroenteritis, indigestion and loss of eyesight among others making the water unfit for irrigation (toxic) but also adversely affecting the aquatic life.
Sandhu said one of the main causes of pollution in the Budha river, which is a tributary of the Sutlej, is the release of untreated toxic industrial effluents into the water bodies.
He said that as per the report of the Punjab Government, the Sutlej carries Class B water (moderate water pollution) before the confluence of the Budha river in Ludhiana, but after the confluence reverts to Class E water (high level of pollution makes it unfit for any human or irrigation use).
Sandhu thanked the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for taking immediate action on the issues raised by him and convening a high-level meeting on the matter on January 19. “I am sure this high-level meeting will help in addressing the ever-increasing pollution in Ghaggar river, Budha river and other water bodies of Punjab,” he added.
