Protest over illegal treatment plants triggers traffic chaos in Ludhiana
Thousands of protesters from across Punjab launched the demonstration opposite Verka milk plant on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur main highway .
Police on Tuesday detained over 150 activists, including women who sat on a dharna under the banner of ‘Kala Pani Morcha’ to demand the closure of illegal Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) outlets in the city, alleging severe groundwater contamination.
Thousands of protesters from across Punjab launched the demonstration opposite Verka milk plant on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur main highway .
The protesters, led by activist Amitoj Maan, alleged that untreated effluents discharged from dyeing units of Ludhiana were polluting the Buddha Nullah, a drain of polluting effluents
The protesters, including social activist Lakha Sidhana, convener of the group, have also alleged that around 10 crore litre of toxic effluents are being discharged daily into the Buddha Nullah, which then merges with the Sutlej River, providing drinking water to people in Punjab and Rajasthan. It is contaminating the groundwater with carcinogenic chemicals, causing a rise in cancer cases in the Malwa region and parts of Rajasthan.
Maan said: “Highly toxic effluents has led to the spread of cancer in these areas.”
They have demanded immediate government action to close the illegal Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) outlets polluting Buddha Nullah and nearby water bodies, citing violations of environmental norms and public health risks, despite Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) orders.
The protestors blocked the national highway for eight hours, causing major traffic jams on Ferozepur Road and connecting routes like South City and Southern Bypass, leading to hours-long delays for residents. They have cited various medical and scientific studies suggesting that groundwater pollution was the main cause of the spread of cancer in the region.
However, the dyeing unit owners along with their workers staged a counter-protest by sitting on a ‘dharna’ on Tajpur road here, alleging that the self-styled environmentalists were only trying to blackmail them.
All the dyeing units have treatment plants and there is also a common treatment plant, asserted president of the Dyeing Federation Ahok Makkar. “We are strictly following all the guidelines of pollution control,” he added.
Balbir Singh Rajewal, a farm leader who was at the protest site, condemned the detentions as undemocratic, criticising the state government’s failure to shut down illegal outlets, which he called an attack on public health and the environment. He declared plans for an indefinite protest in Chandigarh before being arrested.
Deputy commissioner of police Jaskiran Singh Teja said around 150 protestors were detained for disrupting the Ferozepur Road highway. “Forces have been deployed to maintain law and order. Traffic was diverted in the evening.”
The agitation eased only after negotiations between the protest leaders, district administration, and police officials.
Amarjit Singh Bains, additional deputy commissioner (General), said: “The PPCB confirmed the 15 MLD CETP plant at Tajpur Road will be shut within two days. Decisions on two other CETPs, reportedly under NGT stay orders, will be made after a legal review in seven days.”
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