Tonnes of garbage is being dumped all along the river banks and at the places of great importance in twin towns of Baramulla and Sopore in the absence of Solid Waste Management.
In Baramulla town, the district officials on March 15 launched two days cleanliness drive and as part of the nationwide compaign ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ cleaned the river banks at different spots. This was done to ensure the garbage on the banks does not get immersed in the river.
However, just few kilometres away from the spot, the entire garbage of the town is being dumped at the banks of the river at Jetty Khawaja Bagh, a residential colony.
“The irony is same administration is involved in the pollution of river Jhelum by dumping the solid waste close to the river at Jetty Khawajabagh” said Ghulam Hassan, a resident of Khawaja Bagh Baramulla. “As the water level increases in the river or during the rains, the muck from the garbage site falls into the river making its water poisonous. Then same water is then supplied to the town dwellers for drinking purposes.”
In the absence of solid waste management, the pollution level in the river has touched an all time high.
“Be it shopkeepers or the municipal council employees, the garbage is being dumped all along the river banks and into the river. The garbage and waste include human excreta and poultry waste” says Farooq Ahmad, a civil society member.
Jhelum plays an important role in the lives of residents of Baramulla town. The drinking water needs of the Baramulla town are met from the river and as per PHE officials Baramulla, more than six million gallons of water from the river are supplied to 80000 souls of Baramulla town on a daily basis for drinking purposes.
Facing similar situation in the neighbouring Sopore town, the local residents here recently staged protest against the authorities for converting the town into ‘garbage dumping site” by depositing garbage all along the river banks and in the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) ground which lies in the heart of the town.
According to authorities in Sopore, on an average around 16-17 metric tonnes of garbage is produced in the town on a daily basis. In the absence of solid waste management this garbage is either being dumped on the river banks or in the SRTC land.
As per 2011 census, Sopore town has population of around 68000 souls. The projected population in the town at present is 80,000, besides town has 50,000 floating population. “The massive garbage is being dumped everywhere in the town. The SRTC land is situated in the heart of the town and without caring for the health of the local residents, the municipal council authority Sopore is dumping the waste there” says Sharif-U-Din Bhat, a local resident.
The members of the traders federation as well as the Sopore Economic Alliance claims that the SRTC land in the Sopore town was earlier earmarked as vendor zone, where the vendors could be rehabilitated. However, the vendors soon deserted the place.
“As the vendors left SRTC land, the Municipal Council sopore employees instead of preserving it, used it for dumping garbage. The garbage site stinks, resulting in huge inconvenience to locals” said Muhammad Ashraf, a civil society member and the president Sopore Economic Alliance.