Chandigarh, 3rd, March, 2025: The General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister, and MP from Sirsa, Kumari Selja, has written a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Saini regarding the issue of people in the villages of Rania block near the Ghaggar River being forced to drink contaminated and chemically contaminated underground water. This has led to an increase in waterborne diseases and some cases of cancer. She has requested that clean drinking water supply be ensured in the area, and medical teams be sent to check the health of the affected people.
In her letter to Chief Minister Nayab Saini, MP Kumari Selja said that prominent people from some villages, particularly from the village of Santnagar, have informed her that they have been struggling for many years to get clean drinking water. Most villages in the area depend on underground water. The water from the Ghaggar River, which flows through this region, has become completely polluted, resulting in the contamination and toxicity of underground water. Earlier, clean water was supplied to some villages from the Bhakra Canal, but this supply was discontinued. As a result, the number of cancer patients is rising day by day, particularly in Santnagar, where multiple members of the same family are suffering from cancer. Kumari Selja said that a plan to provide clean drinking water to Santnagar was approved years ago, and a water treatment plant was established in Daleep Nagar, but no action has been taken yet. She has requested that the Chief Minister ensure the supply of clean drinking water from the Bhakra Canal to the Rania area, send health teams to check the health of the villagers, arrange treatment for cancer patients at government expense, and carry out a comprehensive water test in every village to determine whether the underground water is safe for drinking.
Kumari Selja said that there is discrimination in the supply of canal water to the Sirsa district. The supply has been reduced, and previously, water was supplied for three weeks, but now it is only for one or two weeks. In some areas, water tanks remain empty, while irrigation of crops is being affected. Kumari Selja has requested the Chief Minister to extend the duration of canal water supply to Sirsa so that people can have access to clean drinking water and crops can be irrigated on time.
