MP Kumari Selja has raised concerns over the pollution in the Ghaggar, which serves as a lifeline for hundreds of villages in Sirsa. For the past 15 years, the river has been used to discharge various pollutants, including factory waste and hazardous chemicals. These pollutants are causing severe health risks to humans and dairy animals and making life unbearable for those living nearby.
During her recent visit to the Rania area, Selja stopped at the Ottu headworks and spoke to farmers, who expressed their worries about the increasing pollution in the Ghaggar. She assured them that addressing the river’s pollution would be her top priority.
Selja has written to Justice Prakash Shrivastava, chairman of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Union Minister CR Patil of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.
She highlighted that the Ghaggar, originating from the Shivalik hills and flowing through Himachal, UT, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, is often linked to the sacred Saraswati. The river’’s polluted water is affecting bird life, aquatic life around the Ottu Weir, and the quality of groundwater, posing significant health risks to humans and livestock. Poor-quality milk and waterborne diseases such as jaundice, diarrhea, typhoid, hepatitis, and malaria are prevalent in the area. She noted an increase in cancer and gastrointestinal diseases, attributing it to the river’’s pollution. Faulty sewage treatment plants (STPs) in several villages and towns along the Ghaggar belt are contributing to this issue. She called for inspections of these STPs to fix any faults.
In a press note, she said, ignoring this severe environmental threat could lead to irreversible pollution in the Ghaggar basin. Reports by a commission led by Justice Pritam Pal highlighted the gravity of the situation, but their recommendations have been ignored. Social organisations in Sirsa have raised these issues repeatedly but to no avail.
