Communities living beside the Ghaggar river in Haryana (a northern Indian state bordering Punjab), once famed for its clear, fish-filled waters, are now reporting a sharp rise in cancer cases they attribute to severe water contamination. Residents of villages such as Mallewala in Sirsa district describe a dramatic transformation of the seasonal river from a vibrant communal resource into a polluted waterway, with industrial and domestic effluents blamed for the deterioration. The health crisis has drawn attention to the broader consequences of unchecked water pollution in rural India, where communities often depend on river water for drinking, farming, and livestock.