Toxic dumping triggers fish deaths in Sutlej, allege farmers

Bathinda: Farmer organisations and environmentalists have accused municipal bodies and industrial units of dumping toxic elements into water bodies, leading to the death of a large number of fish in the Sutlej near Harike Pattan, the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas.While farmer forum Azad Kisan Morcha has threatened protests if corrective measures are not taken, Col C M Lakhanpal (retd), a member of the PAC for Mattewara Jungles, Sutlej, and Buddha Dariya, has written to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking their urgent intervention. "This is not an isolated incident but evidence of large-scale poisoning of a vital river ecosystem. The subsequent release of additional water to wash away the dead fish appears to be an attempt to obscure the magnitude of this environmental crime rather than to address its root cause," said Lakhanpal, adding that this incident represents nothing short of a massacre of biodiversity. Terming it an institutional failure and act of negligence, Lakhanpal stated it will take a long time for the ecological damage to be reversed. Punjab Pollution Control Board member secretary Lavneet Dubey, when contacted, advised reaching out to chief engineer R K Ratra. He said the matter was not yet in his knowledge, but added directions have been given to officials concerned to investigate and take corrective measures. MSID:: 130003409 413 |