Kusum Arora 
Jalandhar: After activists associated with the Kale Pani da Morcha (war against black water) held a protest to block the flow of toxic industrial waste into Ludhiana’s Buddha Nallah, which merges into Sutlej River, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab government on Tuesday (December 3) sought a week’s time to address the issue. The activists said they would announce their next course of action after the deadline ends..
Earlier, on November 19, the activists had given an ultimatum to the state government headed by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to implement its directives, warning, that if their demands were not met, they would themselves stop the flow of toxic waste into Sutlej River on December 3.
The movement was first launched on June 18 this year while their maiden protest took place on August 24, 2024.
As the government failed to act, on December 3 (Tuesday), the activists and locals gathered at the Verka Milk Plant, Ludhiana to stop the discharge of effluents from the Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) meant to treat toxic water of dyeing units into the Buddha Nallah.
There are three CETPs to treat effluents of dyeing units in Ludhiana district. Ludhiana, which is famous for its hosiery goods, has around 384 dyeing units, apart from the electroplating industries.
Ludhiana’s Buddha Nallah has been getting polluted for the last 40 years, blackening the water of Sutlej River, which has made it a sensitive environmental issue. Owing to acute levels of pollution in Sutlej, people in Punjab’s Malwa region and the neighbouring state of Rajasthan were forced to drink contaminated water which resulted in diseases such as cancer, hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis, skin disorders and eye ailments among others.
Notably, the Buddha Nallah was once a ‘darya (a clean water rivulet)’, which used to serve as a lifeline of locals. However, with the industrial revolution in Ludhiana and ignorance of the respective state governments to save the environment, the problem increased. Today, Buddha Nallah has become synonymous with Sutlej river’s pollution in Punjab.
Activists from Punjab and Rajasthan detained, stopped from reaching protest site
The Kale Pani da Morcha activists said that while Ludhiana turned into a fortress, around 2,000 supporters from Moga, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Ludhiana districts and the neighbouring state of Rajasthan were stopped by the police from reaching the protest site.
Since Rajasthan also gets water from the Sutlej River via the Indira Gandhi Canal and Gang Canal, cancer and hepatitis C cases have been noticed in more than a dozen districts.
Environmentalist Jaskirat Singh, who was leading the protest said that there were reports of police camping at some local gurdwaras to ensure that no announcement was made for mobilising people.
“Similarly, raids were conducted at various places till late Tuesday night to stop the protest from gaining strength”, he said.
He said that at the protest, the Punjab government officials called Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) officials on the spot but the latter expressed their helplessness in implementing the orders.
“Finally, the Punjab government sought one-weeks’ time to address the issue, on which we would wait and watch. However, we informed the government officials that if they failed to act, people would again come out in large numbers, as it was a matter related to their health and life”, added Singh.
The police also detained some women activists and kept them at the local Dugri Police Station, Ludhiana.
Women activists who were detained inside the police vehicle while being taken to Dugri Police Station, Ludhiana. Photo: By special arrangement
“We were holding placards and standing silently, when women police came and detained us. They did not even spare two children aged around 13 and 14 years and made us sit till late evening,” said Samita Kaur, a Chandigarh based activist who was detained along with 15 other women and two children.
Kaur questioned the Punjab government’s approach and silence over the protest and said that while the industrialists were allowed to gather over 10,000 factory workers, including the migrant labourers at Tajpur Road, they were stopped with barricades from moving ahead.
“None of the AAP leaders including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann issued any statement on the protest, which speaks volumes about their concern for cleaning Buddha Nallah and saving Sutlej River”, she added.
Earlier in the day, Khadoor Sahib MP and the chief of Waris Punjab De association Amritpal Singh’s father Tarsem Singh, gangster turned social activist Lakha Sidhana and young farmer leader Navdeep Badecha also led the protest among others. Film maker Amitoj Mann, actress and activist Sonia Mann, SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal were also part of the protest.
Senior farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal from Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leading the Delhi 2.0 protest at Shambu border in Punjab supported the protest as well.
In his statement Dallewal said that if the Mann-led AAP government causes any harm to the activists, farm unions would gherao the houses of AAP leaders.
“For the last 40 years, the people of Malwa region of Punjab have been consuming water from Sutlej, which was polluted by Buddha Nallah. Since the water from Buddha Nallah was draining into Sutlej, people were getting affected by cancer and hepatitis C cases.”
‘Dyeing units are not adhering to the environment clearance conditions’
Speaking to The Wire, environmentalist Jaskirat Singh said that the PPCB had ordered to stop the three CETPs from discharging the effluents from the dyeing units into the Sutlej River.
“The dyeing units are not adhering to the environment clearance conditions and norms issued by the PPCB from time to time. Now, they are saying that they have got a stay from NGT, which is wrong and misleading. The NGT has clearly asked them to follow the environmental clearance, which was not the case”, he said.
“In its September 25, 2024 order, the PPCB had issued clear directions to the dying units that they shall meet the disposal conditions of effluents as mentioned in the Environmental Clearance granted by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dated December 8, 2014 failing which they would face action under section 33-A of the Water (Prevention & Control Pollution) Act 1974,” Singh added.
The activists of Kale Pani da Morcha blamed the Dying units of bringing migrant labourers and provoking them to protest against them.
“The industrialists called all the industry workers and tried to make it a Punjabis versus migrant labourers’ issue, which was illogical”, Jaskirat said.
‘Why just target the dyeing industry?’
Punjab Dyers’ Association president Bobby Jindal said that they too held a parallel protest led by factory workers and industrial associations, which got a huge response.
“We had moved an application in the NGT against impugned PPCB’s orders about not to discharge treated water through CETPs into the Buddha Nallah in November 2024. We got a stay in this case. The next hearing of the matter would be held on March 20, 2025,” said Jindal.
Jindal said that they have three CETPs to treat the water of the dying units but the major problem lies with the Punjab government and the PPCB, who have failed to implement its own suggestions.
“The Punjab government had suggested that they would revive the ‘Lower Buddha Nallah’ and utilise the treated water for irrigation, as a measure to clean the existing Buddha Nallah and save Sutlej River. The Lower Buddha Nallah used to exist earlier and extended till Moga district, hence lengthening the flow of the tributary,” said Jindal.
An aerial view of the Tajpur Road, Ludhiana where Dyers Association held a big protest against the Kaale Pani Morcha activists terming them as ‘blackmailers’. Also seen in the picture is the view of polluted Buddha Nallah, which has been polluting Sutlej River for last 40 years. Photo: By special arrangement
“However, following floods in the 1980s or due to certain other requirements of the time, the flow of the tributary was changed till Walipur Kalan village in Ludhiana, which has been acting as a major factor in increasing the level of pollution”, he added.
He also questioned the role of over 1,000 dairies situated along Buddha Nallah, which were also contributing to the choking of the tributary.
“It is high time the activists speak against the dairies too. Why just target the dyeing industry?”, he questioned.