Chemical waste dumped on canal bank

Large quantities of industrial waste dumped on the canal banks near Rara Sahib some 30 km from here have become a matter of concern for residents of the area.

Large quantities of industrial waste dumped on the canal banks near Rara Sahib some 30 km from here have become a matter of concern for residents of the area. The residents have approached the district administration to locate the person who dumped this material here and take action against the accused. The material which is a kind of black ash and slush was found dumped near the canal bank last month.

Gagandeep Boparai,a resident of the area who along with other local residents of the area has taken up the matter with the administration,says,This canal is the lifeline of the state. People in the southwestern part of the state drink water from this canal and use this water for irrigating their crops. However,some people are heavily polluting this very water. The waste material was found lying in the banks some of which has even flown into the water. These canals were made by the Britishers who did not even allow anyone to walk on the banks so that water could be as pure as possible. However,at present people are recklessly dumping all sorts of waste in these canals.

Boparai claimed,We do not know what this material is but we have seen that the animals who bath in this water soon develop skin problems which shows that this is some kind of chemical. We have approached the district administration and asked them to ensure that the person who is guilty of dumping this waste here is caught and punished.

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Area Forest Block In-Charge Baljit Singh said,Since the day this matter came to light,we have been holding night-long vigils here. So far we have not been able to catch anyone. This is a completely isolated area and falls close to village Buani. Some trees standing on the banks were getting affected by this chemical but we ensured that it was removed from the place and the plant waters. We have at least been able to save the plants.

The Forest Department has lodged an FIR with the area police and sent them samples of the chemical for further testing. Payal SDM Mohinderpal Gupta informed,I will be visiting the site next week with officials of the PPCB,Revenue Department and Forest Department. Our first aim is to ascertain which kind of factory or industry generates this kind of waste. Through this,we will be able to narrow down to the person or the organisation which has dumped this waste. After this,we will work towards getting this waste removed so that further pollution of the water can be stopped.

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