How Buddha Nallah, once a freshwater stream, turned into ‘cancer source’ in Punjab

The Malwa region of Punjab is facing a severe environmental health crisis, primarily driven by unchecked industrial and municipal pollution. A major pollution hotspot is the Budha Nallah (Buddha Stream), which has become a symbol of environmental degradation in the region. Despite legislative efforts, including the Punjab Pollution Control Amendment Act of 2014, pollution levels remain dangerously high, posing significant risks to public health. Alarmingly, the region has witnessed a sharp rise in cancer cases, often linked to prolonged exposure to contaminated water and air.

As the crisis deepens with each passing year, local communities continue to bear the brunt of ineffective policies and governmental inaction.

The Budha Nallah, once a pristine freshwater stream flowing through Ludhiana and its surrounding areas, has tragically transformed into what locals now grimly call the “cancer stream.” Over the decades, this 14-kilometer waterway has deteriorated into a conduit for a toxic mix of pollutants. It carries industrial effluents from approximately 2,000 factories, untreated domestic sewage from Ludhiana city, chemical waste from dyeing and electroplating units, and agricultural runoff laden with pesticides and fertilisers.

Despite numerous environmental regulations and changes in government, the pollution persists—forming what experts describe as a “toxic cocktail” that has seeped into the region’s groundwater and soil. This ongoing contamination has triggered a public health emergency across the Malwa region, one that continues to escalate as successive administrations fail to take effective action.

Scientific analysis of the Budha Nallah’s water has revealed alarming concentrations of contaminants that pose serious health risks to local populations. The toxic mixture includes dangerously high levels of heavy metals—such as chromium, lead, cadmium, and mercury—far exceeding the permissible limits set by environmental regulatory authorities. In addition, the water contains elevated concentrations of hazardous organic compounds, including benzene derivatives, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phthalates. Pharmaceutical residues, including antibiotics and various drug compounds resulting from improper disposal practices, have also been detected.

Technical measurements further underscore the severity of pollution in the Budha Nallah. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels frequently register 30 to 40 times higher than the safe limit of 3 mg/L, while Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) frequently exceeds 250-350 mg/L compared to the recommended limit of 10 mg/L. Additionally, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) average between 2,000 and 3,000 mg/L, drastically surpassing the acceptable limit of 500 mg/L. These contaminants persist in the environment, accumulating in the food chain and eventually reaching humans through multiple exposure pathways that are difficult to avoid for local residents, dependent on the land and water resources.

The Malwa region—encompassing districts such as Bathinda, Mansa, Ludhiana, and Sangrur—has tragically come to be known as the “Cancer Belt” of Punjab, owing to the alarming health impacts experienced by its residents. Epidemiological studies consistently report that cancer prevalence in the Malwa region is approximately 1.5 to 2 times higher than the national average. Particularly affected are villages situated along the Budha Nallah and those dependent on its water for irrigation, where cancer incidence rates are significantly higher compared to other parts of Punjab.

The cancer profile in the Malwa region is particularly alarming, with common diagnoses including breast, cervical, and gastrointestinal cancers, as well as leukemia—affecting even younger populations. The crisis is so widespread that nearly every village in the affected areas has multiple “cancer households,” where several family members have been diagnosed with different forms of the disease, creating both a medical and economic crisis for already vulnerable communities.

Beyond cancer, residents report a sharp rise in other health conditions, including reproductive health issues, developmental disorders in children, chronic respiratory problems, skin diseases, and gastrointestinal illnesses that further compound the health burden on local populations who often lack access to specialised medical care.

The pollution affects residents through multiple routes, creating an inescapable web of exposure that persists through generations. Seepage from Budha Nallah has contaminated aquifers throughout the region, with many villages dependent on groundwater for drinking and household needs despite awareness of its questionable quality. Agricultural products grown in the area absorb and accumulate toxins when irrigated with contaminated water, creating a secondary exposure pathway through the food supply. The phenomenon of food chain bioaccumulation means heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants concentrate in fish, dairy products, and locally grown produce at levels that increase with each step up the food chain.

Children playing near contaminated areas and agricultural workers face direct exposure through skin contact and inhalation, while the broader population experiences airborne exposure through evaporation of volatile organic compounds and dust from dried sludge that carries contaminants far beyond the immediate vicinity of the Nallah. This multi-pathway exposure creates a situation where even those attempting to take precautions find it nearly impossible to avoid contamination entirely.

Despite the Punjab Pollution Amendment Act of 2014 and other regulatory frameworks, implementation remains problematic due to systemic failures that have persisted across multiple administrations. Government agencies suffer from insufficient enforcement capacity and resources, while political considerations frequently trump environmental concerns when decisions are made about industrial development and pollution control.

Corruption within monitoring agencies undermines enforcement efforts, with reports of industrial units receiving advance notice of inspections or paying bribes to avoid penalties for non-compliance. There is also a troubling lack of coordination between different governmental departments responsible for various aspects of environmental protection and public health, creating gaps in oversight that polluters readily exploit. Economic pressures on industries to cut costs on waste treatment continue to drive illegal dumping practices, while inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure throughout urban areas ensures that domestic waste adds to the pollution burden in waterways like Budha Nallah.

The recent Punjab Pollution Amendment Act-2025, while ostensibly designed to address these longstanding issues, threatens to exacerbate problems for Malwa region residents rather than alleviate them. The new legislation includes contentious provisions that create expanded exemptions for certain industries deemed “economically critical” to the state’s development, potentially allowing major polluters to continue operations with reduced environmental scrutiny. The Act also extends compliance timelines for existing industrial units to implement waste treatment systems, effectively granting a grace period during which pollution can continue unabated.

Perhaps most concerning is the Act’s redistribution of enforcement authority, which dilutes the power of specialised environmental agencies in favor of general administrative bodies with limited technical expertise and potentially stronger ties to industrial interests. Environmental activists and public health experts have condemned these provisions, arguing they prioritise industrial development over public health protections for communities already suffering from decades of toxic exposure.

Health impacts from these policy shortcomings fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable populations within the region. Rural communities with limited political influence and financial resources find themselves unable to advocate effectively for enforcement of even existing regulations, while economically disadvantaged residents cannot afford filtration systems or alternative water sources that might reduce their exposure. The healthcare burden continues to grow as cancer and other pollution-related illnesses strain both family resources and the region’s medical infrastructure, with specialised treatment often requiring travel to distant urban centers at considerable expense.

Psychological impacts compound these challenges, as communities experience the trauma of watching neighbours and family members suffer while feeling powerless to address the environmental causes of their illness. Intergenerational effects are becoming increasingly apparent, with children born to exposed parents showing developmental issues that may impact their health and economic prospects throughout their lives.

Addressing this public health emergency in the Malwa region demands a fundamental overhaul of both policy and implementation strategies. Strict enforcement of existing environmental regulations, with severe penalties for non-compliance, must become the standard rather than the exception. This should be supported by significant investments in monitoring infrastructure and environmental testing.

The installation and effective operation of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), coupled with independent and transparent monitoring, could drastically reduce the industrial pollution flowing into local waterways. Additionally, comprehensive groundwater testing and remediation programs are urgently needed to tackle existing contamination.

The healthcare response must include the expansion of cancer screening services and the establishment of specialised healthcare facilities in the affected areas. Research into soil remediation techniques is also crucial to restore contaminated agricultural land to safe production. Sustainable industrial practices and cleaner production technologies should be incentivised through both regulatory requirements and economic benefits, creating pathways for industries to maintain profitability while reducing environmental impacts.

Until these measures are implemented effectively, each new government will continue to face the same growing health crisis that has plagued the region for decades, with the residents of Malwa paying the ultimate price with their health and lives.

The Punjab Pollution Amendment Act-2025 represents another missed opportunity to take bold action on this crisis, and may indeed worsen conditions by relaxing standards and extending timelines for compliance. For the countless families living along Budha Nallah and throughout the Malwa region, government promises of future improvements offer little comfort as they continue to drink contaminated water, cultivate polluted soil, and watch their communities suffer the devastating health consequences of industrial development without adequate environmental safeguards.

True progress will require prioritising public health over short-term economic gains, enforcing regulations without political interference, and acknowledging the human cost of pollution that has been ignored for far too long.

(The writer is the Executive Director for the US, UK and Canada of the North American Punjabi Association)

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