Seventy-one-year-old Arjun Singh, once a familiar sight ferrying villagers across the Sutlej in his creaky wooden boat, has been forced to abandon his livelihood after a barrage of lung and kidney ailments left him too frail to row. His wife, Durgo Bai, and other relatives firmly believe that years of consuming and coming into contact with contaminated river water—tainted by effluent from Pakistani tanneries—have taken a severe toll on his health.
“My husband spent every dawn and dusk on this river to earn a meagre living,” Durgo Bai recounted. “Now, he can barely stand without gasping for air.”
Singh’s story is far from unique in the border villages that line the Sutlej’s winding course. Residents of Kaluwala, Tendi Wala, Chandiwala, Jallo Ke, Khunder Gatti, Jhugge Hajara Singh Wala and Gatti Rajo Ke report a spike in skin disorders, gastrointestinal illnesses and even orthopaedic complications—ailments they attribute to years of exposure to polluted water.
“Once the tanneries dump their waste into the Kasur drain, it flows straight into the Sutlej,” explained youth leader Chhinder Pal Singh of Kaluwala village. “The water seeps into the ground, tainting our wells. Our crops wither, livestock fall ill—and now people are sick too.”
Local educators say the contamination even affects the youngest generation. At Government Senior Secondary School in Gatti Rajo Ke, headmaster Tajinder Singh oversees some 750 students from nearby settlements. He notes that dozens of pupils suffer from chronic skin rashes believed to be linked to river water.
“We’ve organised periodic medical camps with NGOs and district officials,” Singh said, “but this is a long-term crisis that demands urgent government intervention.”
Across the border, Kasur—the Pakistani town nearest Ferozepur—hosts hundreds of leather-processing units. Tanneries in Kasur, Barki and Sehjra rely on vast quantities of water to wash hides, then discharge untreated effluents laden with chromium and other toxic chemicals. The contaminated effluent enters the Kasur drain before merging with the Sutlej.
Superintending Engineer of Canals, Sandeep Goyal, has observed the river’s condition firsthand where it re-enters India at Tendi Wala.
“The water here is blackish,” Goyal said. “It’s clear that untreated waste is being released upstream. We’ve raised this with higher authorities before but found no formal records of action.”
District Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma acknowledged the gravity of the situation and has directed the Executive Engineer (Canals) to investigate and submit a time-bound report.
“We will review the findings and, given the transboundary nature of the problem, escalate it to senior central authorities,” Sharma affirmed.
For villagers like Arjun Singh and his neighbours, such assurances offer a glimmer of hope. Yet, many fear that unless swift bilateral cooperation halts the flow of toxic waste, the Sutlej’s waters will continue to exact a grim price—one borne by those who have long depended on the river for both their livelihood and their lives.
