India News | Haryana's Ghaggar River Getting Polluted, BJP Govt Responsible: Cong MP Selja
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Congress general secretary Kumari Selja on Monday said that the Ghaggar river in Haryana is getting polluted and alleged that the BJP government of the state is having an apathetic attitude towards the problem.
Chandigarh, Jul 14 (PTI) Congress general secretary Kumari Selja on Monday said that the Ghaggar river in Haryana is getting polluted and alleged that the BJP government of the state is having an apathetic attitude towards the problem.
The former Union minister, who is also an MP from Sirsa in Haryana, alleged that the Ghaggar river is becoming a river of death due to government negligence.
"The water in the villages along its banks is getting polluted; in 13 villages, the water is no longer potable. Waste from 46 factories is being discharged into this river, yet the government remains inactive," she alleged in a statement here.
Selja said that southwestern Haryana has become infamous as a cancer belt due to the increasing pollution of the Ghaggar river.
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"This is not just an environmental disaster but a human tragedy, for which the negligent BJP government of Haryana is responsible. The Ghaggar river originates from the Shivalik hills of Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh; flows through Punjab, enters Haryana, then through Rajasthan, and finally ends in Pakistan. Its total length is 320 km. The river is most polluted in Punjab and Haryana, where excessive use of pesticides in crops flows into the river with water," she claimed.
Additionally, hundreds of factories are located along the Ghaggar river in Punjab and Haryana, "dumping wastewater including toxic substances into it", she further said.
The MP said sewage from towns without sewage treatment plants is also discharged directly into the river. It is not that the government is unaware of this issue, as affected people raise their voices at every forum," she said.
The Congress leader said she has raised this serious issue multiple times in the Lok Sabha, "but the BJP government, which has been in power for 11 years, has not taken any concrete steps".
"There have been many announcements and advertisements, but neither has the river been cleaned nor have strict actions been taken against the polluting factories," she said.
Diseases like cancer, skin ailments and illnesses in children are rapidly increasing in districts like Sirsa and Fatehabad in Haryana and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan.
"More than 46 factories are directly discharging poisonous water into the river, while the Haryana Pollution Control Board remains a silent spectator. In 2025 alone, 1,678 new cancer cases were recorded in Haryana. The canals flowing from the Ghaggar river are in a similar state, with Sirsa district being the most affected," she further said.
In Haryana's Sirsa district, Selja said the Ghaggar river passes through the Rania and Ellenabad areas. The villages in the Rania area depend entirely on groundwater for drinking water.
"The groundwater in about 13 villages near the Ghaggar river has become toxic and people are falling victim to cancer," she said.
She urged the government to announce a special package for the urgent cleaning of the Ghaggar river, take immediate legal action against polluting factories, set up cancer hospitals, drinking water facilities and health camps in affected areas, and have the Parliamentary Environment Committee prepare a special report on this issue.
She said that the government must take concrete action on the ground.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)