Open garbage dumps along NH-44 hurt eyes, nose, health, and Kashmir’s image of cleanliness

Open garbage dumps along NH-44 hurt eyes, nose, health, and Kashmir’s image of cleanliness

Anantnag: Open garbage dumping yards along the Srinagar-Anantnag stretch of NH-44, as also along the Bijbehara-Anantnag stretch of the old national highway, emanate foul smell and are a health hazard, besides being eyesores. They also hurt the Valley’s image of cleanliness as they are the first things that tourists visiting Kashmir notice along the highway.
Apart from several smaller dumps, two huge ones are located right next to NH-44 in Gaelandar area of Pampore and in Awantipora area of Pulwama district.
The ugly mountain of garbage right next to the magnificent saffron fields of Gaelandar presents a sorry picture of solid waste management in Kashmir valley. “Not only is it a blot on the saffron fields, it is also located across the road from a tourist cafeteria in the area,” the locals told Kashmir Reader. “The foul smell is enough to repel anyone from the place, leave alone sitting in a cafeteria and enjoying the view.”
There is also a slum of some ten to fifteen odd households next to this mountain of garbage. “Imagine the damage it is causing to the health of these people,” the locals said.
Another dump, in Awantipora area, is located amidst lush green paddy fields and trees. The authorities have covered the dumping yard with tin sheets but it is very visible from the elevated NH-44.
“Isn’t this dumping yard causing severe damage to the paddy fields around it?” the locals ask. “We have been quite vocal about its relocation but to no avail. Nobody seems to care about the damage such dumps are causing to the surroundings.”
Smaller mounds of garbage can also be seen along the NH-44 and the Bijbehara- Anantnag stretch of the old national highway. The authorities say these garbage dumps fall in the “shadow areas”.
“Shadow areas are the ones that fall outside the jurisdiction of the municipal authorities,” a senior official in the administration said. “But, obviously something needs to be done to take corrective measures, be it in the jurisdiction of the municipalities or in the shadow areas.”
Kashmir Reader talked to the Director of Urban Local Bodies, Mathoora Masoom, who said that the establishment of solid waste management plants was an ongoing process in Kashmir.
“Land has been acquired and work started at some places, while the search for land to create such facilities in other places is going on. In certain places, the plants are already functional. We are moving in the right direction,” Masoom told Kashmir Reader.
She said that the municipal authorities were working in the shadow areas as well, despite the areas not being their jurisdiction. “We have cleared the dumps on the Bijbehara-Anantnag stretch even if they were in the shadow areas,” she said.

 

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