Sarsa: Rivulet associated with pivotal moment in Guru Gobind Singh’s life, is dying

Subject: Geography

Context:

As Sikhs across India and the rest of the world observe the 356th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, a rivulet in north India associated with a key moment in his life is gasping for breath.

Sarsa river:

The Sarsa originates in the Shivalik hills in Himachal Pradesh.
It flows through Solan district borders Punjab, enters Rupnagar district in Punjab and eventually flows into the Sutlej.
On December 21, 1704, a pitched battle had taken place on the banks of the Sarsa between the Khalsa and Mughal armies.
The Sarsa was where the Guru’s family got separated in the winter of 1704.

Pollution in river sarsa:

The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial complex is spread over 380 square kilometres in the Solan district near the Sarsa.
BBN hosted around 500 small, medium and large pharma units and accounted for 35 per cent of Asia’s total medicine production.
Pharmaceutical waste being discharged either directly or indirectly into the Sarsa from the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial complex has affected the river’s biota and made the river water unfit for human use.
The pharma waste could also be causing the area to become prone to antimicrobial resistance.
The water of the Sirsa (or Sarsa) river, which flows downstream through Baddi, is black and emanates a foul odour.

What are the guidelines to prevent pollution?

The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 clearly lays down guidelines about the penalties to be imposed on those who are polluting water resources.
Those who pollute water are liable for a prison sentence of up to six years under the Act.
There is also the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 which has to be followed.