punjab

Updated: Aug 24, 2019 22:58 IST

Under fire for its failure to control pollution in Buddha Nullah, the municipal corporation (MC) has warned dairy owners to stop dumping waste in the stream or be ready to face closure.During a meeting on Saturday, in which cabinet minister and MLA (west) Bharat Bhushan Ashu was also present, the civic body officials told dairy owners of Haibowal and Tajpur road area that they won’t hesitate in sealing the dairy units if need be. “We will also snap the sewer connections if waste dumping in Buddha Nullah does not stop,” the officials said.

There are over 1,000 dairy units situated on Tajpur road and Haibowal area.

An MC official, requesting anonymity, said officials had deliberated on shifting dairies out of the city limits. The MC had also snapped connections of three diary units on Tajpur road on August 16.

MC commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar said warnings and notices had been issued earlier too but despite that many dairy owners were still dumping the waste into the nullah. “Some improvement has been witnessed in the past but now the MC will take strict action against violations. The sewer connections of the dairy units would be snapped and if needed, the dairy units would also be sealed, said Brar.

Dumping of garbage and dairy waste into the nullah has been a major concern and the monitoring committee of National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had visited the city on May 1, also raised concern over the same. The committee led by Justice Pritam Pal Singh (retd) had slammed MC and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) for doing nothing to control pollution in the nullah.

Recently, the PPCB had also filed a petition against the MC, its commissioner, mayor Balkar Sandhu and six others for failure in running the sewer treatment plants properly and adding to Buddha Nullah pollution.

The special task force constituted by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for cleaning the nullah had also asked the MC and district administration to expedite the process of shifting the dairy units outside the city limits. Earlier, the Naamdhari sect had also stopped desilting process of nullah as MC failed to stop dairy units owners from dumping waste directly into the nullah.

MC superintending officer Rajinder Singh said they had recently visited Dhanansu village and seen how the villagers there are using dairy waste as compost in the fields. On Saturday, the MC officials exhorted other diary owners to do the same.