Punjab: Activists from various organisations staged a sit-in protest at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk on Republic Day to protest the state government’s failure to curb water pollution in the Sutlej river due to the polluted Budha Nallah in Ludhiana. The protesters highlighted that Dr BR Ambedkar gave fundamental rights to citizens through the Constitution, but both the state and central governments have failed to provide clean drinking water. They pointed out that contaminated water containing harmful chemicals from Ludhiana’s Budha Nallah is causing serious health problems including cancer and skin diseases, yet the government has not taken effective action. The activists also stressed on the severe pollution of the Sutlej river, which is mainly due to industrial waste dumped into the Budha Nallah by several factories in Ludhiana. They accused industrialists and government officials of being indifferent to the suffering of the people. Speakers including Tejinder Singh Khalsa, Kamal Kishor Khurana and Rajan at the protest demanded immediate solutions to address this public health crisis.
