Ludhiana: Industrial waste flowing into Buddha Nullah, says MP
Locals and activists hit out at the PPCB for what they said was its ‘failure’ to prevent pollution in the Buddha Nullah; locals said the ongoing cleaning campaign has ‘exposed repeated negligence’ and flagged toxic industrial waste being discharged into the water body, alleging it was due to laxity by officials
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Thursday collected samples after industrial was once again found to be flowing into the Buddha Nullah, said officials.
They said the waste found in the water body near Dharamkanda, Tibba Road. Municipal corporation (MC) officials directed the company handling the effluent treatment plant (ETP) to finish work on the drain by April 22 and ordered round-the-clock duty of officials and police.
The issue was flagged by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seecehewal, who noticed the waste flowing into the Buddha Nullah during a visit. He then alerted the PPCB, and samples were subsequently collected.
Locals and activists hit out at the PPCB for what they said was its ‘failure’ to prevent pollution in the Buddha Nullah. Locals said the ongoing cleaning campaign has ‘exposed repeated negligence’ and flagged toxic industrial waste being discharged into the water body, alleging it was due to laxity by officials.
Seechewal visited the culvert on Tibba Road, where he said he discovered that a sewer outlet discharging waste into the river. Seechewal claimed the outlet was supposedly a stormwater drain but there had been no rainfall in the area, raising concerns.
