Rajat Banerji | December, 2002

"Originating at the revered Manasarovar lake in the Tibetean plateau, the Satluj is no more than a drain after it crosses the industrial city of Ludhiana."

	Manasarovar lake in the Tibetean plateau: Origin of Sutlej

The westward-flowing Satluj is one of five rivers that lends its luminous name to the Punjab.

At mid-stream, it settles down at Govind Sagar (where the Bhakra Nangal dam has been constructed across the river) before it carries on to the plains of the Punjab. In this basin lies the town of Ludhiana, the most populous Punjabi city. It is also here, from the industrial city, that the river receives massive pollution loads - industrial as well as urban.

Though Ludhiana is 25 kms from Satluj, a former tributary called Budha Nala (BN), dumps industrial and urban effluents from this city into the river. This outfall causes the colour of river water to turn black. Though there are other municipalities that also dump their untreated sewage into the river, Ludhiana remains a big source of concern.

"To tackle the sewage problem, the Satluj Action Plan has been kick-started at the cost of Rs. 229.37 crores (US $48 million)," says R.P. Sharma of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. "This has been done to improve the quality of water in the river, by setting up sewage treatment plants in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Phagwara and Phillaur," he adds.

The price of prosperity
But that only tackles sewage, and not industrial pollution, the main source of the problem as far as Satluj is concerned. Consider that Ludhiana has 250 large and medium-scale units and 41,116 small-scale units. Electroplating, heat treatment, cycle manufacturing, hosiery, machine parts, vegetable oils, dyeing processes and chemical industries are the major industries.

They use huge quantities of chemicals, various types of dyes, chrome, nickel and cyanide. With poor effluent treatment facilities, traces of these heavy metals end up in BN and thus in the river. In the process, even groundwater is contaminated, posing a public issue as well.

So this is the price of prosperity for the region. The population density, which was only about 100 persons/ha in 1971, has increased to about 259 persons/ha in 1991 (latest available figures!), which is a result of the growing numbers of job opportunities. But the river water and even groundwater around BN, is contaminated with heavy metals and a noxious cocktail of other chemicals.

Ludhiana: history Ludhiana lies at an altitude of 247 metres above mean sea level. The city of Ludhiana (or Lodhiana) is named after the Lodhi dynasty which ruled Delhi from 1451 AD to 1526 AD. The city was founded by the then Lodhi General Nihang Singh in 1481 AD. Prior to 1835, when British took over the town, it was a part of Mughul dynasty and later was ruled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh during 18th century. With the partition of the state in 1947, the physical area of the city and its population increased manifold. Ludhiana is presently a district headquarter and an important rail and road junction.

Present status of Pollution
To study the variation in physico-chemical parameters in the Budha Nala vis-à-vis discharge variations, a detailed study was undertaken by G. Singh, Civil Engineering Department of the Ludhiana University. "The self-purification mechanism does not exists in BN," states Singh. The stream had not recovered from pollution even before it joined the river.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board has undertaken extensive studies of ground water quality in Ludhiana city. Their results indicate that toxic pollutants such as cyanide, hexavalent chromium, nickel and zinc, in addition to dyes and numerous other organic and inorganic compounds, are present. Some exceed permissible limits. "Satluj is another river that pays the price of India's quest for industrialisation," says Delhi-based water researcher, Himanshu Thakkar.

Budha Nala A clean water stream as reported in the Gazetteer of 1904: "Immediately under the high bank along the old course of the Satluj now runs a perennial stream called the Budha Nala which takes its rise near Chamkaur, in the Ropar Tehsil of Ambala, and enters this District under Bahlopur. Passing just below the town of Ludhiana, it flows into the Satluj in Tahsil Jagraon, a few miles east of the Firozpur border. When swollen by floods in the rains it has a considerable volume of water and covers the surrounding country but ordinarily, although there is in places a good deal of swamp, the stream is only a few yards across. The water, except during floods, is perfectly clear and is used freely for drinking purposes. It is rarely, if ever, used for irrigation. In explanation of this fact it is reported to contain a strong infusion of salts, but the main reason is that it is easier and more economical to dig small unlined wells, in which water is obtained at from 2 to 10 feet below the surface."

Rajat Banerji is managing editor of www.cleanganga.com