PPCB proposes to use treated water for watering fields

Ludhiana: For putting to use the treated water that will come out of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) after passing through dyeing units, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has started the process. The proposal is to use this treated water for irrigation purpose instead of throwing it into the Buddha Nullah.
In this regard the PPCB chairman S S Marwaha conducted a meeting with dyeing unit owners in the presence of agricultural experts at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Tuesday. One CETP at Bahadurke road is complete and it will start functioning shortly while CETPs for Focal Point and Tajpur Road will be complete in next three months.
Talking to media persons, Marwaha said that dyeing units were taking out at least 100 MLD of groundwater for daily use and thus water after being treated at a CETP could be used for irrigation purpose. He said if they would throw it into Buddha Nullah, then it would be useless to treat the water. He said if they would use this treated water in fields for irrigation, then farmers’ dependence on tubewells for irrigation would be reduced. He said it would also help in reducing the depletion of groundwater table.
The chairman of PPCB also claimed that to utilise this treated water they would require irrigation land in huge quantity. He said as per estimates the discharge coming from dyeing units could water at least 3,000 to 4,000 acres in paddy season, while for wheat crop more than 7,000 acres could be watered. He said they would need to encourage the farmers to use this water for irrigation and this responsibility had been taken up by the agriculture department.
Meanwhile, the dyeing unit owners who participated in the meeting gave assurance of providing every possible help to the PPCB in this initiative. They claimed that they would do every possible help to save groundwater.
The chairman also claimed that the CETPs would start functioning before December end, which is the deadline for Focal Point and Tajpur Road CETPs. They have given 15 days time to consultants for preparing the report to utilise this treated water in the nearby villages.