Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, on Thursday asked the representatives of the industry, chairmen and vice chairmen of Punjab, large and medium industry and small scale Industry boards to suggest ways and means to combat the menace of water pollution, which had posed a great threat to the very existence of the human beings.
Addressing on the state level function of 59th ‘Van Maha Utsav’ here at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) after planting a sapling to mark the occasion, Badal said;” Human life is far more important than any commercial activity. We in the government can’t compromise on this vital issue as we are duty bound to cherish the aspirations of the people as per our commitment to the electorate and can’t afford to exploit their sentiments.? He appealed the leaders and opinion makers to rise above from the party affiliations and come forward to launch a crusade against the wide spread pollution of air, soil and water. He assured that the suggestions given by the representatives of different industries would be taken into consideration while taking any prior decision on the issue to check water pollution.
He said the entire malwa belt had been badly affected due to high content of pollutants in the water.
Badal said as the government alone was unable to tackle this problem and people’s participation was all the more important.