World Wetlands Day Marked at Harike Wetland

On 2 Feb, environmentalists from Panjab and a few from the world gathered at the Harike wetland to mark World Wetlands Day. The wetland is the meeting point of the Satluj and Beas rivers. The riverine area covers 4,100 hectares spread across Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, and Kapurthala districts. Harike attracts scores of migratory birds and is home to the river dolphin besides other aquatic birds, animals, and reptiles. The wetland draws many birdwatchers and activists every year on the occasion with activities to campaign for protecting its rich biodiversity to foster a love for the environment. The 13th edition of the event had music, poetry, discussion, and boat rides, and was organized by NGOs Bhoomitra, Inner Wheel Club, Taran Taran unit, Punjab Action Committee (PAC), Mattewara, and INTACH Panjab. The message was: ‘Stay close to nature and preserve it.’ This is because of grave concerns about environmental pollution in the wetlands. Jaskirat Singh of PAC said that the visible color change of the Satluj and Beas rivers to black and green respectively is an indicator of the unaddressed pollution problem of Panjab. ‘The reason for the color change is the discharge of effluents and sewage from channels like Buddha Dariya and Kala Sanghian drain that dump wastewater of industrial towns of Ludhiana and Jalandhar into the Sutlej’ (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 2, Story 3). Recently, Balbir Singh Seechewal, now a member of the Rajya Sabha appointed by AAP, has been appointed the head of the Buddha Dariya Task Force. However, given his clean chit to the Malbros Distillery at Zira, it is doubtful if he would go against the water-polluting industry.