Poisoned Punjab: Cancers, dental problems plague Ludhiana village residents

A plethora of health issues are being reported by residents of Gaunspur, a village in Punjab’s Ludhiana district. The villagers attribute their illness to industrial activities polluting their water and air.

The pollution has taken a toll on farmer Sukhwinder Singh and his family. His mother was diagnosed with skin cancer around five years ago. 

Sukhwinder’s son, Gurnoor Singh, is also suffering — the five-year-old child’s milk teeth are breaking off in small pieces. 

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Sukhwinder’s family is not alone. “In the last month, five new cancer cases have been diagnosed in the village. Many are facing dental and skin problems. This is all happening due to polluted water,” said a source working in a Ludhiana-based hospital, who spoke to Down To Earth on condition of anonymity.

Another villager, Indu, said her 17-year-old son keeps falling sick and has to go to a hospital every six months. His teeth are also breaking off like Gurnool. Indu is a migrant from Uttar Pradesh. 

Constant illnesses have also prematurely aged many villagers. Harvansh Singh (55) and Jagjeet Singh (45) have lost all their teeth and Jagjeet looks much older than his age.

The village has about 450 households and the residents depend on groundwater. The water is being contaminated by the paper mills operating in the area, alleged the villagers. 

The industries are likely reverse boring, where industrial effluents are pumped into the groundwater, said Sukhwinder. Polluted surface water could also be percolating into the groundwater and contaminating it.

Budha nullah, a 40-kilometre-long tributary of Sutlej, runs through Ludhiana city before reaching Gaunspur. The seasonal waterbody empties into the Sutlej river a little further down, near the village of Walipur in the Ludhiana district.

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Sewers carrying industrial, agricultural, domestic and municipal waste have been entering Buddha nullah for a long time. In 2010, the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests declared Buddha Nulla a critically polluted area. 

Budha nullah carrying sewage empties into the Sutlej river. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE

The stream is black and has a disagreeable odour. Industries send their chemical-laden discharge into municipal sewers, reaching the nullah. “This practice is an open secret,” Ahhbaab Singh Grewal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab spokesperson, told DTE.

The dyeing industry uses chemicals and complex dyes containing metal, according to a 2021 study published in journal The Chemical Record. The electroplating industry uses brass, zinc, silver, gold, nickel, copper, iron, aluminium, lead, tin, platinum and chromium.

Studies have documented heavy metals in the Buddha nulla. Heavy metals, such as arsenic, chromium, lead and iron, are a concern as they remain in the environment for a long time. 

Several groundwater samples collected within a six km stretch of Buddha nullah were unfit for drinking, according to a study.

Sukhwinder has installed a reverse osmosis water filtration system in his house. “But we have to change the filter every 20 days,” he said. Those who cannot afford expensive water purifiers drink untreated groundwater. 

Many residents prefer getting treated at a private clinic or hospital. “The government dispensary in the neighbouring village is not good. They are often not stocked up on medicines. Dayanand Medical College in Ludhiana offers us free treatment,” Sukhwinder said.

The residents have hope the government will set up a health camp in the village. “It will help catch diseases that are under the radar. The disease burden of the village could be even higher if every villager is tested,” Sukhwinder speculated.

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Residents also complained of fly ash from the paper mill industries. “It enters our eyes. We sometimes go to the doctor to get it removed,” Indu said. 

Her house is just across a paper mill factory and the Buddha nullah. “We need to live with the foul stench emanating from the factory,” she said.

Some families have sought another route to cope with the menace. “Some four-five families have sold their land and moved abroad in the last five years,” said Sukhwinder. Most residents have no other option but to endure the conditions.

This story is part of a series on the health problems faced by people of Punjab due to pollution. 

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