In Punjab, a march in polluted areas to make parties talk about clean air, water

Seechewal said, “The current state of Buddha Nala reflects the overall state of environment in Punjab. Political parties have never considered environment, rivers, air and ground water as important electoral issues. We are therefore reaching out to the voters to take it upon themselves to vote for those parties which they feel will work for betterment of the environment.”

Candidates from different political parties — including Tarun Jain Bawa of SSM, Pritpal Singh of SAD, Parveen Bansal of BJP, and Pappi Prashar of AAP, among others — joined the march and were handed over copies of the Green Manifesto.

In his appeal to young voters, Giani Kewal Singh, former jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, said, “Punjab is facing an environmental emergency. We have given copies of our Green Manifesto to all political parties and candidates and have requested them to include issues of pollution, air, water, forests and climate change in their manifestos to stop ecocide of Punjab. Voters should vote for those candidates who have some sensitivity and understanding of these issues and can work for the next generation.”

Shahi Imam of Ludhiana, Usman Rehman Ludhianvi, said that if people of Punjab start fighting environmental issues in a united manner then they will definitely succeed and political parties and governments will have no choice but to clean Buddha dariya and improve environment.

Kahan Singh Pannu, former agriculture secretary, Punjab said, “Our groundwater is depleting fast. Our political leadership has so far not understood the gravity of the situation, which is why voters should ask them tough questions on such important issues this time.”

Shahi Imam of Ludhiana, Usman Rehman Ludhianvi, said that if people of Punjab start fighting environmental issues in a united manner then they will definitely succeed.

On inclusion of green issue in manifestos of political parties, Ranjodh Singh from Ramgarhia educational council said, “We are happy to note that Sanyukt Samaj Morcha has mentioned the issue of environment in their manifesto. We are waiting for other parties also to see how they incorporate it in their manifestos and to know their stand on issues like cancellation of Mattewara Industrial Park and cleaning of Buddha nullah.”

Kapil Arora of Council of Engineers said, “We need to protect our environmental heritage. Even PM Narendra Modi in his speech has mentioned how contaminated drinking water is distributing cancer in Punjab. We should not vote for candidates who are trying to sell the bank of Sutlej in the name of development.”

Jaskirat Singh, member of the Public Action Committee (PAC) for Sutlej and Mattewara forest said, “Article 48 – A of the Constitution of India mandates that the state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country. We are sending a loud and clear message to all political parties through this march that it is their solemn duty as per constitution of India to protect the environment if elected and people will read their manifestos very carefully this time and ensure environment conservation agendas are implemented.”

Talking about huge heaps of plastic garbage enroute, Dr Navneet Bhullar said, “Punjab is drowning in plastic. This is due to the fact that our law enforcement machinery has failed to enforce the ban on single use plastics. We should elect leaders who can rein in officials who are responsible for enforcing the ban.”