PROF. HARDEV SINGH VIRK*
Punjab, the land of five rivers, is facing one of the worst crises in its history. Its youth are trapped in drug addiction, marginal farmers are burdened with insurmountable bank loans – often leading to suicide – and the State’s financial situation is so dire that Punjab is caught in a debt trap. The moral fabric of this once vibrant Punjabi society is fraying under the pressure of internal and external contradictions.
Ecology: Long – Term Effects:
However, rather than focusing on these immediate social concerns, I would like to highlight the long term ecological disaster looming over Punjab.
In the 1990s, our research group at Guru Nanak Dev University received funding from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to assess environmental radiation hazards in Punjab. Our objective was to measure the environmental radiation does caused by radon gas emanating from the soil – a byproduct of radioactive uranium. We discovered that, the Malwa region’s radiation dose was 20% higher than other parts of Punjab, though at the time, we did not perceive an imminent public health threat.
Unfortunately, We failed bother to assess the broader impact of Uranium contamination in soil and groundwater . The severity of the issue became evident only in March 2009, when a South African clinical metal toxicologist Carin Smit found alarmingly high uranium levels in 88% of blood samples taken from mentally disabled children in Faridkot, Malwa. Shockingly, 87% of children under 12 years and 82% of those older exhibited uranium levels high enough to cause serious diseases, with one child’s levels exceeding the safe limit by 60 times.
Opening Pandora’s Box:
This revelation sparked a national outcry, echoing even in Parliament. BARC teams were dispatched to Punjab, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with Guru Nanak Dev University to conduct a statewide survey of uranium contamination and its health impact. My recent survey across SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur and Bathinda revealed uranium content within safe limits in the first two districts, but dangerously high levels in the Malwa belt (Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa and Ferozepur).
In Badla village (Dasuya Block Hoshiarpur district), the Punjab Department of Sanitation and water supply reported 2200 micrograms per liter (ppb) of uranium in groundwater from a 700-foot-deep borewell – far exceeding the safe limit set by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
Some scientists suggested mining uranium can be mined from underground water, but what is the actual source of this contamination? Researchers at Punjab University, Chandigarh, link the high uranium content to water salinity and phosphatic fertilizers used in Malwa. Calcium bicarbonate acts as a leaching agent, concentrating uranium through geochemical processes. While this explanation makes sense, it offers no direct solution.
Groundwater Depletion and Pollution:
High uranium content, along with toxic heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, nickel, manganese, and barium, poses severe radiological and chemical risks to both humans and the ecosystem. Survey by BARC and GNDU confirmed that 50% of groundwater samples in Malwa are unfit for human consumption. Experts recommended two alternatives: Switch to canal water for drinking supplies, as its uranium content is much lower. Secondly, install reverse osmosis (RO) systems to filter toxic elements from groundwater. These Both solutions are already being implemented in parts of Malwa.
However, Punjab’s groundwater crisis isn’t just about contamination – it’s also about depletion. Before the Green Revolution, Punjab’s landscape resembled a desert, dotted with sand dunes up to the foothills of the Siwalic range. Yet, groundwater was shallow with aquifers at 5 to 10 meters, rising to 1 meter during monsoons. The Green Revolution brought agricultural prosperity but at a catastrophic cost. By 2025 (as reported in The Tribune of 1st June), water tables have plunged to 50-60 meters across most districts. In Muktsar, Faridkot, and Ferozepur, over-extraction has even caused waterlogging. Punjab now has 12.7 lakh tube wells, over half of which are submersible, capable of depleting water tables beyond 100 meters . Manohar Singh Gill has highlighted this problem and its impact on marginal farmers in his article published in Indian Express (reported in The Sikh Review, May 2016). Alarmingly, the government has approved 1.25 lakh new tube well connections, driven by political consideration rather than sustainability.
Geomorphology:
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, through the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, has made village-level water quality data available online. is reported. Similarly, the Central Ground Water Board offers Block-level geohydrology data. Both institutions have warned the Punjab government to curb tube well installations and prevent further groundwater depletion.
Key recommendation include: Stop free electricity for tube wells to discourage over-extraction. Adopt sustainable cropping patterns to break the water-intensive wheat-paddy cycle. Promote less water-intensive crops like maize, pulses, and oilseeds. Encourage rainwater harvesting and aquifer recharge practices.
I conclude with Oliver Goldsmith’s words from “The Deserted Village”:
“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay:
Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade-
A breath can make them, as a breath has made:
But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride,
When once destroyed, can never be supplied.”
