Once a lifeline for villages situated along its course, the Ghaggar has in recent years turned into a perennial source of pollution in the district. As untreated waste continues to be discharged unabated into the river, the prevalence of cancer and other diseases has been steadily rising among the residents. Pollution source Lacking treatment plants, several civic bodies in areas situated upstream the Ghaggar release waste into the river before it enters Patiala district. Emerging from Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh, the river carries pollutants from the hill state as well as from Haryana before it enters Punjab. The rising pollution has been a bone of contention between the three states, with Punjab blaming its neighbours for the menace. But ironically, Punjab’s own industry too has been discharging effluents into the river. Health hazard Diseases like cancer and hepatitis have become common among the residents here. Almost every third house in Samana, Ghanaur and Patran has lost a member, or has a patient, to some type of cancer, say villagers. Though the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) claims to have initiated several projects to clean the river, the villagers say “the result is yet to be seen”. While the PPCB says there is almost negligible untreated industrial waste flowing into the river currently, it has no reply when asked why the discharge of sewage continues. Board Member Secretary Babu Ram says plans to check sewage discharge have been submitted to the government. Jaskaran Sandhu, former Irrigation Department Chief Engineer who was part of an Indian delegation that visited Pakistan a few years ago to discuss ways to check river pollution, says, “It is high time that the PPCB takes some concrete steps.” Sources say recently, both Punjab and Haryana tried to conduct random sampling from several points along the river but the initiative was stopped without achieving the desired results. Several reminders from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to the two states too have failed to serve the purpose. What PPCB says With no power to check pollution emanating from Himachal and Haryana, the PPCB brought the matter to the notice of the Punjab Government earlier this year. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had even written to his counterparts in the two states but no major headway seems to have been achieved. Says PPCB Chairman Ravinder Singh, “We brought the matter to the notice of the Central Pollution Control Board and will again approach the central body to ensure no pollutants are discharged into the Ghaggar.” CPCB senior scientist BM Bhardwaj says as water is a state subject, the central body has limited say. “The governments in Punjab, Himachal and Haryana need to understand it better and check the release of industrial waste,” he says. “We can issue directions, hold coordination meetings and issue reprimands. But finally, the state governments have to draw plans and implement these.” (Concluded)