Plastic waste finds way to Sukhna choe, cleared later
The waste was reportedly dumped by the vendors who were there at the lake. Even during visit of Newsline, despite lake being a no-vending zone, a vendor was seen selling stuff at the area.
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The sanitation workers, however, cleaned the area around Sukhna Lake on Saturday. (File Photo)
Plastic items were found dumped around the Sukhna choe in Chandigarh, which claims to be plastic-free. Plastic bags, wrappers of various eatables were found dumped near the trees. The sanitation workers, however, cleaned the area around Sukhna Lake on Saturday.
Social activist Paveela Bali while speaking to Chandigarh Newsline said, “The amount of plastic litter mainly ice cream wrappers and snacks’ packets that is dumped around the Sukhna choe is worrying. The trees are dying due to the plastic gone into the soil and roots of trees. The water of the choe is full of plastic, and this may be major reason for fish dying. Migratory birds have also considerably reduced in numbers through the years. Trees will not survive if not looked into urgently”.
“I think the administration/MC should appoint environmentalist with help of experts to sort this out and they can still be saved,” added Bali, who runs a NGO, The Run Club.
The waste was reportedly dumped by the vendors who were there at the lake. Even during visit of Newsline, despite lake being a no-vending zone, a vendor was seen selling stuff at the area. She had covered her eatables with a cloth asking people if they wanted something.
Vibha Pandey, another activist, said, “ It is a deliberate disposal. Other wise how would tonnes of plastic litter reach there. One looks at the amount of plastic dumped in the choe and you wonder are the authorities even aware of what damage it is causing to environment .”
Sukhna choe independently joins the Ghaggar river at Mirpur village in Panchkula district. Downstream of Sukhna Lake, the stream carries polluted water. Thus the untreated effluent of Chandigarh city are adding on to the pollution of Ghaggar and Sutlej rivers. “And to add to this we have tonnes of plastic just dumped here,” she added.
On Saturday, sanitation workers removed the debris of garbage dumped behind Nature Interpretation Centre near the Regulatory End of Sukhna Lake. Workers said, “We received a call from the contractor in the morning to clean up the area. The garbage is being loaded in the trolley and dumped in the Dumping Ground, Dadumajra. We cleaned the area after a gap of one fortnight.”
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