Ludhiana: 2 dyeing units in Haibowal Dairy Complex asked to shut biz

Jaspal Singh, executive engineer of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), said that these units appeared to be dairies from outside. The inspecting team came to know about the operation after it entered the premises, he said, adding that PPCB officials directed them to shut their business.

Two dyeing units, allegedly operating secretly in the Haibowal Dairy Complex, were spotted during an inspection by a team, led by Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, officials said on Thursday. Jaspal Singh, executive engineer of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), said that these units appeared to be dairies from outside. The inspecting team came to know about the operation after it entered the premises, he said, adding that PPCB officials directed them to shut their business.

Officials from the Municipal Corporation, drainage department, PPCB and rural development department were part of the inspection team. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Officials from the Municipal Corporation, drainage department, PPCB and rural development department were part of the inspection team. Meanwhile, Seechewal claimed that there have been major improvements in the water quality of the Buddha Nullah. “Foul smell in the river has also decreased. In Haibowal, where earlier the total dissolved solids (TDS) level of the Buddha Nullah water used to be above 2,000, has come down to around 852,” he said.

Speaking to media after the inspection, Seechewal said a special campaign was launched on December 22 last year to stop the wastewater flowing into the water body. Under this campaign, the waste discharge from 79 dairies in rural areas has been stopped so far. The Municipal Corporation has also succeeded in stopping around 160 million llitres per day (MLD) of wastewater that was being discharged into the river from different sites. The MC had assured in a meeting on November 27 that all wastewater flowing into the Buddha Nullah would be stopped by December 10.

Seechewal, along with administrative officers, inspected the water body from the Tajpur Dairy Complex to the Haibowal Dairy Complex. During the visit, they reviewed sewage entries from Amrit Dharam Kanda, Shivpuri, Gau Ghat and the railway line up to Haibowal.

Local residents also raised issues regarding sewage problems and encroachments alongside the river. Two excavators have been deployed near the Haibowal Dairy Complex to remove silt from the river. The PPCB got the medical waste removed that had been dumped near the river.