Punjab, Haryana polluting canal with effluents -- Rajasthan

Punjab, Haryana polluting canal with effluents -- Rajasthan
PRADEEP KAUSHAL

JAIPUR, OCT 9: The Rajasthan government has alleged that industrial units in Punjab and Haryana are discharging waste in to the Indira Gandhi feeder canal, a part of the inter-state Bhakra irrigation system, causing serious health problems for people in some areas of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Irrigation Minister Kamla told The Indian Express heretoday that Rajasthan had decided to approach the Punjab Government to check the release of industrial effluents in to the water. ``We will first write to them, and, if this does not help, I will personally take up the matter with the Punjab Irrigation Minister,'' she added.

Kamla said that the people of Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan had complained of the presence of industrial effluents in the water, which they used for drinking as well as irrigation. The high incidence of water-borne diseases like cholera, jaundice and diarrhoea in the region had alarmed the authorities.

Consequently, the chief engineer in charge of the Hanumangarh area, who was asked to look in to the matter, confirmed what people had alleged.

When contacted, Irrigation Secretary Sudhir Bhargav said that some industrial units were also releasing pollutants into the canal. However, the Haryana Irrigation Secretary, during their last meeting, had denied this. The bulk of pollution, however, was taking place in Punjab and people in some parts of Haryana are also facing the same problem, Bhargav added.