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Satguru Uday Singh quits as Buddha Nullah STF chairperson
In his resignation letter, Satguru Uday Singh reiterated his commitment to protect the environment and urged the CM to take a personal interest in cleaning the polluted Buddha Nullah, Ludhiana, that drains into the Sutlej
In a major setback to the ambitious Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project, Satguru Uday Singh, the head of the Namdhari sect, has resigned as chairperson of the special task force (STF) overseeing the cleaning of the polluted stream.
Confirming the development, Namdhari Darbar press secretary Lakhvir Singh on Sunday said, “Satguru has sent his resignation to chief minister Bhagwant Mann. He was disappointed with the slow pace of the cleaning project.”
In his resignation letter, Satguru reiterated his commitment to protect the environment and urged the CM to take a personal interest in cleaning the polluted nullah that drains into the Sutlej.
Lakhvir Singh said the project was moving at snail’s pace: “First, the batteries of the tippers deployed by the dera chief to clear garbage were stolen. Despite several requests, a biogas plant was not set up on Tajpur Road to stop cow dung from entering the Buddha Nullah, and the construction of a 225-MLD (millions of litres per day) sewage treatment plant at Jamalpur is nowhere near completion,” he said.
Alleging that the decisions taken by the STF were not being executed, Lakhvir said, “Satguru Uday Singh had inspected the Buddha Nullah on April 17 and found that untreated dairy waste was still being dumped in the water body.”
“Satguru had deployed nearly 500 disciples for removing toxic waste from Buddha Nullah,” he said. On August 22, 2021, the canal department had initiated a ₹9.8 crore project to release clean water from Neelon Canal into Buddha Nullah, but the move did not meet with much success as untreated waste from dyeing, dairies and sewerage continues to drain into the rivulet.
