Srinagar: One huge dustbin

Thomas Moore once compared the summer capital of the state to ‘a bride full of blushes.’ He was not the only poet to wax lyrical about thousands of years old history; there has been a plethora of writers and poets who lavished praise on this city; a city that for lackadaisical attitude of civic bodies has been converted into a stinking dustbin. Huge dunes of garbage spread all over the capital city have become a breeding ground for diseases. Interestingly, when Clean India Mission campaign launched by Prime Minister to clean up the cities, towns and rural areas is on a very high pitch the civic bodies in the valley are missing. Instead of cleaning the rivers and water bodies, the municipal workers have converted the river banks as dumping sites for garbage to the extent of clogging some of the tributaries of the Jhelum river crisscrossing the city. To sensitize the authorities some conscientious citizen had posted pictures of various rivulets and tributaries bursting with garbage on the social media. And written on the negligence of the municipal authorities in columns like ‘Is anybody listening.’ Six column pictures like the ‘huge piles of unattended garbage near Nowhatta Police Station, or massive overflowing garbage containers on the banks of the rivulets like Dood Ganga with hundreds of dogs threateningly feasting, have no meaning for the administration. Sadly, the outside workers, and beggars have added menace of open defecation. Now when the offices of highest authority are about to open in the summer capital the municipal corporation should wake up to its responsibilities and start a sustained campaign for cleanliness. Moreover, it should not be restricted to the high profile areas but all over the city. The capital city two decades back was confined to ten square kilometers; it has now multiplied four times. For ensuring the cleanliness and restoring the past beauty of the city, the government should think of reorganization the Municipal Corporation; may be dividing it into North and South corporations.