The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today sought a judicial probe into the molasses leakage incident in which a large number of fish died in the Beas river.
In a statement here, SAD secretary general and MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said, "The callous attitude of the mill owner played havoc with the aquatic life in Punjab, leaving tonnes of fish dead as well as pushing some endangered species like the Indus dolphins towards extinction."
Dhindsa alleged that the"owners of the mill had close links with the ruling dispensation and they were trying to use their clout to go scot-free".
He said it was surprising that the government was yet to make any arrests in the incident and had not taken any stringent action against the sugar mill.
A large number of fish were found dead in Beas on May 17 after molasses from a sugar factory leaked into the river Punjab's Beas town, about 40 km from Amritsar.
Molasses leaked from the Chadha Sugar Mill of Kirri Afgana in Gurdaspur. The mill had reportedly claimed that molasses leakage was an accident.
The mill reportedly belonged to Jasdeep Kaur Chadha, daughter of former Delhi Gurdwara Sikh Parbandhak Committee chief Harvinder Singh Sarna.
Jasdeep Kaur Chadha's late husband Hardeep Singh Chadha was the brother of liquor baron Ponty Chadha. Both the brothers were killed in crossfire in 2012.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)