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Ludhiana dairy owners demand permission to dump dung at designated site
Earlier, a community centre was proposed to come up at the site that was designated as the dumping site in the layout plan
While Tajpur road dairy owners are running from pillar to post for allotment of a designated site for cow dung dumping, a community centre was proposed to come up at the space originally set aside for dumping in the layout plan of the complex.
This was revealed by Ludhiana Improvement Trust officials when Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) president and MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains went to meet LIT chairman Raman Balasubramaiam on Wednesday over snapping of direct disposal points at Tajpur road dairy complex.
The LIT officials admitted that an acre of the land was demarcated for dumping cow dung when the scheme was floated. “There was a proposal to establish a community centre at the dumping site was tabled before the state government but it has still not approved the proposal. So dairy owners can still use the land for dumping dung. But the permission for the same has to be given by MC as the scheme has been transferred to the civic body,” said the LIT chairman, adding that the proposal had been tabled before he assumed charge as the chairman.
The LIT chairman also said that the dairy owners were at fault as they did not dump the dung at the designated site and started dumping the waste into the Buddha Nullah.
Tajpur road dairy association president DS Oberoi said they will not dump the dung into the Buddha Nullah bit first a designated site should be provided to them. Stating that the MC authorities failed to install a biogas plant on the campus even though it was approved years ago, Oberoi said, “We are in contact with a private firm which was install a plant to transform dung into fuel.”
Earlier this month, MC commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar had also asked the LIT to designate a site where a plant could be established to convert the dung into fuel. Despite attempts to reach MC commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, she was not available for comments.
Earlier on Tuesday, the MC had snapped 15 direct disposal points at the Tajpur road dairy complex, from where cow dung and dairy waste was being dumped into the Buddha Nullah by the dairy owners.
Naroa Punjab Manch comes out in MC’s support
Members of Naroa Punjab Manch, a non-governmental organisation which is fighting to make Buddha Nullah free of pollution, appreciated the MC’s action of snapping the direct disposal points at dairy complex. The members said that apart from polluting the nullah, the dung, which is discharged into the sewer lines, also chokes the sewer lines of MC and affects the working of sewage treatment plants.
Talwar-Dhillon lock horns
The action against dairy owners on Tuesday took a political turn as the former MLA of the area, Ranjit Singh Dhillon, accused the current MLA Sanjay Talwar of blackmailing the dairy owners for extortion.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dhillon, without naming Talwar, said the representative of the area is blackmailing the dairy and dyeing unit owners for extortion. “The representative wants to grab the land of the dairy owners at a low price,” he said, adding, “The industry in east constituency is facing difficulties and the MLA is involved in illegal and unlawful activities.”
Talwar, however, slammed Dhillon stating that he (Talwar) is cleaning the mess which was created by Dhillon during his tenure. “Dhillon should clear whether he is standing by the side of the dyeing units and dairy owners, who are polluting the city or is he with the residents of the area, who are bearing the brunt due to overflowing sewer lines,” the MLA said, adding, “Many SAD supporters are also part of the industrial associations which are opposing action against the erring dyeing and dairy units.”
