₹650 Crore Spent on Budha Dariya Cleanup, Yet Pollution Continues: BJP

Ludhiana, November 14, 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by District President Sunil Modgil, staged strong protests against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the growing problem of garbage, heaps of waste at various locations and the deteriorating condition of Budha Dariya in the city.
BJP workers staged protests in the Atam Nagar and Ludhiana North constituencies, questioning the government's sanitation arrangements and the expenditure of ₹650 crore in the name of cleaning and rejuvenating Budha Dariya.
In Atam Nagar, BJP workers expressed their resentment over the serious issue of garbage dumps and insanitary conditions at various places across the city. Raising slogans against the government, they demanded immediate improvement in the sanitation system and relief for residents from unhygienic surroundings.
Meanwhile, in Ludhiana North, BJP workers protested against the alleged misuse of ₹650 crore spent on the cleaning and rejuvenation of Budha Dariya. Addressing the gathering, BJP District President Sunil Modgil raised serious questions over the functioning of the AAP government. He said that crores of rupees had been spent in the name of cleaning Budha Dariya, but pollution levels in the waterbody had still not declined, and polluted water continued to flow into the Sutlej River.
Sunil Modgil said that after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab, several tall claims were made about making Budha Dariya pollution-free. However, there had been no significant improvement in the situation on the ground.
He pointed out that AAP MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and other MLAs had also expressed strong displeasure over the functioning of officials and the Municipal Corporation Commissioner regarding the cleaning of Budha Dariya.
He said that despite spending crores of rupees, the government had failed to completely prevent dairy waste and industrial effluents from entering the waterbody. As a result, the water quality of Budha Dariya had not improved as expected.
He questioned why the waterbody continued to suffer from pollution despite such huge expenditure and why residents of the city were still facing garbage, foul smells and unhygienic conditions.
The district president said that before coming to power, the Aam Aadmi Party had made tall promises to make Punjab clean and pollution-free. However, the present condition of Ludhiana exposed the gap between the government's claims and the ground reality. Garbage dumps across the city and the deteriorating condition of Budha Dariya raised serious questions about the government's performance, he added.
He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party would continue to raise issues concerning public welfare and act as the voice of the people. The party's struggle for improving sanitation facilities, making Budha Dariya pollution-free and providing relief to residents from unhygienic conditions would continue.
He demanded that the government accord priority to sanitation, take concrete steps to stop pollution in Budha Dariya and present a detailed account of the crores of rupees spent on the project before the public.
Among those present during the protests were former BJP state general secretary Praveen Bansal, district general secretaries Harsh Sharma and Sheenu Chugh, Kailash Chaudhary, vice-presidents Sumit Tandon, Sanjay Gosain and Mahesh Sharma, Sarabjit Singh Kaka, Narinder Singh Malhi, Gurdeep Singh Gosha, Khanchi Bobby Jindal, press secretary Dr Satish Kumar, Amit Nagi, Seema Sharma, Councillor Suman Verma, Mukesh Sahni, Yuva Morcha treasurer Sachin Modgil, and mandal/circle presidents Ashok Rana, Chirag Arora, Keshav Gupta, Amit Sharma, Naveen Wadera, Rajeshwari Gosain, Rajinder Sharma, Pradeep Panchi, Yashpal Verma, Nitish Dhawan, Deepu Sharma, Manoj Ahuja, Sanjeev Sharma and Bhupinder Sharma, along with hundreds of BJP workers.