Seechewal meets protesters over mill ‘pollution’

Our Correspondent

Saila Khurd (Hoshiarpur), June 13

Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, noted environmentalist and a member of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), visited the town today to meet those raising their voice against the pollution allegedly being created by a local paper mill.

He discussed the matter with MLA, Garhshankar, Jai Singh Rauri and other persons in different villages of the area.

Lakhvir Singh Rana, advocate Ranjit Singh Kalsi, RTI activist Parvinder Singh Kittana and Manjinder Kumar Painsara, who raised their voice against the pollution created by the mill, handed over a memorandum to Seechewal. They alleged that the paper mill had been contributing to air and water pollution.

Seechewal said applications from the farmers were received by the mill owners stating they need water for irrigation and that the mill owners were exploiting the farmers on the pretext of providing water for free irrigation by supplying only polluted water from the mill to them for the crops.

“The people who use water from the factory for irrigation, sell their crop in the market and buy the same produce from elsewhere for their own use,” said RTI activist Kittna.

He alleged that cases of hepatitis were increasing in the area.

The residents of the area requested that a comprehensive scrutiny of the pollution should be done and it should be probed as to what the production capacity of the mill was earlier and how it has increased in the past 10-15 years. How much water was extracted from the mill had been extracted till now and what was the situation of the groundwater in the surrounding villages as of now were also factors that had to be taken into account. Residents of the area demanded that the mill owners be booked.

Seechewal assured the residents that he would take up the matter in a meeting of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Memorandum

Lakhvir Singh Rana, advocate Ranjit Singh Kalsi, RTI activist Parvinder Singh Kittana and Manjinder Kumar Painsara, who raised their voice against the pollution created by the mill, handed over a memorandum to Seechewal. They alleged that the paper mill had been contributing to air and water pollution.