Punjab irrigation dept official says ‘no complaints received’, even as ‘discoloured’ canal water in Malwa raises spectre of pollution

“As stored reservoir water is released after a month, it can be brackish owing to the decreased oxygen level. But still one can’t ignore the possibility of effluents being mixed in this water as well,” said Sukhmander Singh, the president of BKU Rajewal’s Fazilka district unit.

The Punjab irrigation department was supposed to carry out relining work on a 14-km patch of Sirhind feeder from Gurdittawala to Faridkot but official sources informed that only 4-km relining work could be completed in this time.

“Rajasthan and Gang canals in Rajasthan, which get water from Harrike headworks of Ferozepur, are also lying closed due to their annual maintenance work. Hence, Punjab farmers will get the polluted water initially… the issue of water pollution has never been addressed properly,” said Darshan Singh Giddranwali, another BKU Rajewal leader.

Apart from the brackish canal water, videos of discoloured water from the Buddha Nallah flowing into River Sutlej have also gone viral.

“Buddha Nallah water is drained into Sutlej which flows till Harrike headworks, from where water is supplied to the Malwa region of Punjab and even parts of Rajasthan. The Rajasthan government has for long been raising the issue of polluted water being supplied to our canals. In March, our CM had raised the issue with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann,” said Rajay Swami, a BJP leader from Rajasthan’s Ganganagar.

Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar said, “Brackish water is an annual issue in the area. Moreover… the department didn’t bother to clean the silt deposited in the canals. Silt doesn’t allow the canal to run at full capacity. It even puts canals at risk of breaches in the monsoon season and pollutes the water.”

When contacted, Sukhjeet Singh, executive engineer of the irrigation department at Abohar, said, “I haven’t received any complaint from farmers as yet. However, I will look into the water quality issue.”

On the other hand, Manvinder Singh, executive engineer of the water supply and sanitation department, said, “Brackish water comes every year after canal closure and we don’t use that water for drinking purposes. We usually wait for 1-2 days for the water to get clean.”