Rajya Sabha member and environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal Wednesday inspected six treatment plants and the Kala Sanghya drain, telling officials to take immediate action.
Springing to action, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) officials wrote a letter to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), requesting the disconnection of electricity to a dairy that has been polluting the water in the Kala Sanghya drain, a rainwater drain.
During the inspection, Seechewal expressed his disappointment with the officials for not adopting proper water treatment methods before releasing the polluted water into the Kala Sanghya drain or other water bodies. Accompanied by officials of PPCB and Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar, Seechewal visited several treatment plants, including the 50 MLD treatment plant in Basti Pirdad, four treatment plants in Pholriwal with capacities of 100 MLD, 50 MLD, 25 MLD, and 25 MLD, as well as the 10 MLD plant at Bambiawal. He criticised the officials for providing misleading information about the sludge from the 50 MLD treatment plant at Pholriwal.
Seechewal emphasised that the contaminated water flowing through the Kala Sanghya drain eventually reaches Malwa and Rajasthan through the Sutlej River, where people rely on it for drinking purposes. He reprimanded the officials, stating that those who neglect their responsibilities in this matter will face consequences. As a result of PPCB’s actions, the electricity supply was disconnected to a dairy that had been depositing cow dung in the Kala Sanghya drain.