In 1995, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) released a report showing the presence of uranium and other heavy metals beyond permissible limits in water samples collected from Bathinda and Amritsar districts.
Samples taken in the vicinity of the coal-fired power plants were up to 15 times the World Health Organization's maximum safe limits, and that contamination extended across the state of Punjab.
[8][9] In April 2009,[citation needed] the government of Punjab ordered a probe into the matter, and a series of tests with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre were conducted.
[4] Local media blamed the government for not monitoring the environmental impact of ash ponds and the lack of proper study of the prevalent uranium contamination in the region.
[4][5] In Bathinda district, tests on ground water found the highest average concentration of uranium (56.95 μg/L) in Bhucho Mandi, close to the ash pond of the Lehra Mohabat thermal power plant.