Four major pharma factories Ranbaxy Laboratories, Montari Industries (now closed), Max India and DSM India and a paper mill in the area have poisoned ground water with their toxic wastes to such an extent that the department of water supply and sanitation in Nawanshahar has stamped its 200-odd handpumps with deadly looking red crosses. The glowing marks mean that water pouring out of the pumps is unfit for consumption.