Ludhiana: FIR against 4 dairy owners for cow dung discharge into effluent plant

The action was taken on the complaint of civic body’s operations and maintenance cell; in July, the MC had filed an FIR against 13 dairy owners for flouting pollution norms

Four dairy owners from the Haibowal Dairy Complex have been booked for disposing of cow dung into drains, which eventually ends up in the effluent treatment plant (ETP), police said.

The Haibowal Dairy Complex has been grappling with the problem of streets being covered with wastewater and cow dung from overflowing drains. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

According to the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) police station, it registered two FIRs under Section 279 (fouling water of public spring or reservoir) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 70 (3, 5 and 12) of the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act against Gursewak Singh and Joginder Singh in the first case, and Mukhtiar Singh and Pappu in the other, on Friday. The action was taken on the complaint of a junior engineer from the municipal corporation’s operations and maintenance cell.

This came after Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal conducted the 42nd review meeting on the Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project at the MC Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar on Thursday. He directed officials of the civic body, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the police to take strict action against dairy owners caught dumping cow dung into the Buddha Nullah.

In July, the MC had filed an FIR against 13 dairy owners for flouting pollution norms. The Haibowal Dairy Complex has been grappling with the problem of streets being covered with wastewater and cow dung from overflowing drains. One of the issues leading to the overloading of drainage lines at the dairy complex is the excessive discharge of water.

According to the National Green Tribunal, a dairy unit is allowed to flush only 100 litres of water per animal. The MC has instructed dairy operators to install meters to enforce the NGT guidelines.