Polluted Ghaggar stifles many

PATIALA: Hundreds of villages of Punjab suffer for the sins of some industrialists who discharge their industrial effluents in seasonal rivulet — Ghaggar. Despite governments of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh uniting on the issue, Ghaggar continues to get polluted.
Ghaggar enters Punjab from near Mubarikpur and passes through Patiala, Sangrur and Mansa and some other parts of the state.It gets polluted along its course mainly due to effluents released by the industries.
A recent Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) report shows that at many places, the quality of water has degraded to Class E, which is unfit even for bathing. The polluted Ghaggar has made water at surrounding villages unfit and residents are forced to dig deeper for potable water.
"Few years ago, we were getting potable water at the depth of 125-150 feet. Discharging of pollutants in Ghaggar has made the ground water at this depth stink. Now, we have been digging 300-350 feet deeper to fetch potable water," said Balwinder Singh of Hasanpur Mangata.
Residents of Harchandpura, Badshahpur, Soly, Arnetu and Nanhera told TOI that they had not noticed any improvement in pollution level of Ghaggar as concerned officers never take the issue seriously.
"The submersibles bring out water only from 200-250 feet depth. There is a sudden increase in the number of children born with mental and physical disabilities, all due to the polluted water," claimed Satwant Singh of Arnetu village.
Chairman of PPCB Rajat Aggarwal said that they would take more time to clean Ghaggar as many industrialists and Nagar councils have not mend their ways despite warnings and action. "Many industries have stopped discharging pollutants in Ghaggar during day time after our strict monitoring but they do it during night. We are planning to launch night monitoring too in a short time," said Aggarwal.