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Palampur’s oldest stream now a dumping site

Water highly contaminated, unfit even for animals

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Ravinder Sood

The 300-year-old Kirpal Chand kuhal, one of the oldest water channels in the Palampur region, is crying for attention. The 29-km water stream originates from Dhauladhar hills between Bundla and Garh Jamula. It is considered the lifeline of over one lakh residents of 100 villages.

The Irrigation and Public Health Department had to tap its own water resources to cater to various supply schemes in the lower areas of Palampur.

Few years ago, the water from the ‘kuhal’ was crystal clear and was used for drinking purpose. However, today it is highly contaminated and not suitable even for washing clothes and feeding animals.

In the absence of garbage disposal facilities in over 12 panchayats of Palampur, people residing along the banks of the ‘kuhal’ between Bundla and Bhawarna dump waste in it. Except in Aima and Khalet panchayats, the garbage treatment facility is not available in other panchayats of Palampur.

The situation is worse between Aima and Maranda panchayats, as one can see tonnes of garbage, polythene bags, animal carcasses, empty gunny bags and other waste material dumped in the ‘kuhal’.

Environmentalist Poonam Ghalot had filed a PIL in the Himachal High Court highlighting the contamination of water and other problems caused due to dumping of waste in the ‘kuhal’. Subsequently, the High Court sought a status report from the district authorities.

It was expected that things would improve with the proposed upgrade of Palampur as a municipal corporation but due to opposition from local leaders, the government deferred the move.

“This traditional natural resource has turned into a dumpsite, but the Pollution Control Board (PCB) and the IPH Department have failed to serve even one notice on the defaulters,” says Subhash Sharma, a member of NGO People’s Voice.

Sanjay Thakur, Executive Engineer, IPH, says that the government should first create garbage disposal facilities in the 12 panchayats of Palampur.

Health Minister Vipan Singh Parmar says that he is well aware of the situation. During the earlier BJP regime, between 2007 and 2012, he had sanctioned Rs 6 crore for covering the water channel between Palampur and Garh. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had also laid the foundation stone of the project but the previous Congress government diverted funds to some other project.

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