Notwithstanding repeated representations by farmers, villagers and Left parties, the authorities have failed to take steps to check heavy pollution in the Ghaggar, which continues to be a bane for the people living along it. Residents allege that the flow of hazardous chemicals and other effluents has reached alarming proportions, causing damage to flora and fauna, but the situation has not improved despite numerous complaints. Farmers allege that pollution is causing damage to water in the subsoil, in the process leading to cancer, skin diseases and other ailments to people using it. Farmers in Ottu, Sant Nagar, Santawali, Haripura, Jeewan Nagar, Ranjitpura Ther, Rampura Ther, Kariwala, Damdama and Bani allege that life had become hell due to the stink emanating from the Ghaggar and its northern and southern canals. “We cannot pass by the northern Ghaggar canal without covering our noses. Our cattle are forced to drink this polluted water and the water in the subsoil is polluted as well,” alleged Swaran Singh Virk, a veteran CPI leader living in Kariwala village. He said the CPI had passed a resolution demanding cleansing of the Ghaggar in its district convention that concluded last week. The extent of pollution could be gauged from the fact that the water had a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level of between 25 and 30 mg per litre, when samples were near Chandpura in Fatehabad and Ottu in Sirsa in some time back, compared to the permissible BOD level of 3 mg per litre. Viney Gill, Regional Officer of the State Pollution Control Board at Hisar, said the authorities took samples recently. He admitted that the water was polluted, but expressed inability to reveal the exact level.