CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann held a meeting with Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Delhi on Tuesday to raise the issue of pollution in River Satluj, Ludhiana’s Buddha Nullah and falling water table in the state.
Mann told media persons after the meeting, “We had a detailed discussion and it was decided that the centre and the state will work in tandem and the secretaries concerned will hold regular meetings. Out of 150 zones in Punjab, 117 have become dark zones due to over-exploitation of groundwater.”
He added, “River Satluj, which has religious significance, becomes highly populated and turns into a factory of cancer by the time it reaches Ludhiana. Hepatitis and other ailments are common. Water is contaminated in the border areas of Punjab.”
Mann said the issue affects the neighbouring Rajasthan also and I’m sure the union minister must be getting similar complaints there as well. “The canal system in Punjab is the oldest in the country and is becoming redundant. I told the union minister that a proposal has already been sent for seeking help from the Centre. “We should use river water for irrigation and rely less on underground water,” he said.
Mann added in a tweet, “Today held a meeting with Gajendra Shekhawat about water contamination, Buddha Nullah, growing presence of poisonous substances in water of border areas of the state. We will make joint efforts with the Centre’s help to clean up water.”
Mann, however, said that there was no discussion on Satluj Yamuna Link (canal).
Earlier, the National Green Tribunal on July 14, 2021 directed the Punjab and Rajasthan governments to submit quarterly compliance reports to the secretary, central monitoring committee, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (water resources), about the remedial action being taken to curb the inflow of effluent discharge into the Satluj and Beas.
Presently nearly 72 percent of the land is irrigated by tube wells and 28 percent by canals. As per a report in 2019, all blocks in Sangrur district are in the dark zone, while two of three blocks in Barnala are in the dark zone due to over-exploitation of groundwater.
