First meeting of the committee formed for the Buddha Dariya held under the leadership of Sant Seechewal; Tajpur Road Dairy Complex also inspected

Ludhiana, November 4, 2026: Following the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the first meeting of the committee constituted to make the Buddha Dariya pollution-free was held at the 225 MLD-capacity Jamalpur Sewage Treatment Plant. The meeting took place under the leadership of Rajya Sabha MP and committee chairman, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal.
In the presence of the 12-member committee’s Vice-Chairman—Ghanshyam Thori, Secretary of the Local Bodies Department—it was agreed that dairy owners would extend full cooperation to prevent cow dung and animal urine from entering the Buddha Dariya. A consensus was also reached regarding the reduction of the use of water for the purpose of flushing out cow dung from these dairies.
Committee Chairman Sant Seechewal assured that the FIRs registered against the dairy owners would be withdrawn if the cow dung is handed over to the contractor hired for lifting cow dung. It is noteworthy that the Municipal Corporation has awarded a three-year tender for lifting of cow dung from the dairy units in Haibowal and Tajpur road dairy complexes.
The first meeting of this high-level committee took place in a cordial atmosphere. Those present in the meeting included Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr. Ankur Mahindroo, ADC (UD) Amit Bambi, DCP Alam Vijay Singh, Municipal Corporation Joint Commissioners Amanpreet Singh and Tapan Bhanot, PPCB Chief Engineer R.K. Ratra, Councilor Indu Munish Shah, Superintending Engineer (Drainage) Deepinder Kaur, and the District Manager (DM) of PEDA Gurinder Singh, Satwinder Singh (President of the Tajpur Road Dairy Complex), Kuldeep Singh (President of the Haibowal Dairy Complex), the contractor appointed for the removal of cow dung from the dairy complexes among other officials.
Sant Seechewal stated that he has been working towards making the Buddha Dariya pollution-free for the past two years. To this end, he has held 46 meetings. The Governor of Punjab, Gulab Chand Kataria, has visited Ludhiana seven times to hold meetings regarding the cleaning of the Buddha Dariya.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has also convened high-level meetings on two occasions. The sole objective of these meetings was to ensure that the sacred Buddha Dariya remains free from all forms of pollution.
Secretary Ghanshyam Thori informed that the committee members visited the Tajpur Dairy Complex. The ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) at the Tajpur Dairy Complex has a capacity of 2.25 MLD, while the plant at Haibowal has a capacity of 3.75 MLD. Currently, 12 MLD of water is flowing into these plants, which have a combined capacity of only 6 MLD. Sant Seechewal pointed out that the major issue is the excessive use of water, which must be reduced. The purpose of installing flow meters in the dairy units is to monitor and determine the exact amount of water being used by each dairy.
Following a discussion of their respective viewpoints, Satwinder Singh, President of the Tajpur Road Dairy Complex, and Kuldeep Singh, President of the Haibowal Dairy Complex, agreed that all dairy owners would hand over the cow dung from their respective premises to the designated contractor. They also committed to preventing the misuse of clean drinking water.
Meanwhile, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and the Secretary of the Department of Local Government, Ghanshyam Thori, appealed to dairy owners, industrialists, and the general public to cooperate with the administration and ensure that no waste or filth is dumped into the 'Budha Dariya'.