Although environmental pollution is a serious issue it seldom hits media headlines owing to the fact that politics and crime offer juicier stories. The havoc caused by environmental degradation is far more pervasive, debilitating and enduring than any other natural or manmade disaster.  Rajesh Inderpall, a lawyer by training and a senior PTC News correspondent, has been meticulously collecting data on the types of pollutants that have endangered the health and life of people in and around Ludhiana. In the second episode of Manchester Vich Failda Zeher – an eloquent and powerful indictment of callous indifference towards environmental issues – we learn of the extent of damage done by heavy metals and carcinogens present in drinking water in Ludhiana and its surrounding villages, viz., increasing number of cancer patients, physically/mentally challenged newborns, ailing milch cattle and once green but now barren fields. The interviews with environmentalists like Seechewal and various officials show how serious the problem has become. The question is: will this powerful documentary move the authorities concerned to do something concrete on war footing? Nevertheless, we need more such investigative reports on other aspects of environmental pollution and its consequences. Sound pollution for example.

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