LG, Manoj Sinha has hit the nail’s head by speaking about the need to manage solid waste in a scientific manner. The new technology, and the latest processes to be introduced in this field, is the need of hour. It is not just the cities of Jammu and Srinagar that are in dire need of an efficient solid waste management, but all the district headquarters in J&K. The heightened consumerism has given rise to the problem of waste management in almost all the major towns of J&K. Just a drive on the major roads passing through district headquarters gives a sense of how huge a problems it has turned into. One might even go beyond. What would be considered as villages in yesteryears, and free from such problems, are faced with the accumulation of waste. It has resulted in an environmental disaster in our villages as the water bodies are getting polluted beyond recognition. Here it needs to be added that our health resorts, that are considered as major water resources, are getting increasingly polluted because of increased footfall.
The use of junk food has also significantly contributed to this disastrous situation. So what applies to Srinagar and Jammu in case of waste management applies to almost all areas of J&K. It the policy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is implemented in cities, it must be taken, in due course, to other areas J&K. At the same time the machinery that is to be put in place in major cities must be procured for other areas as well. As expressed by the top administration we need to reduce the levels of consumption that primarily contribute to waste production. At the same time the attitude of people need to be changed about this. If the wet waste can be managed at household level that can majorly contribute to minimising the problem. What the government can do is to incentivise management of wet waste at household level by making available the required material at subsidised price. If the 3Rs are strictly followed, we can get rid of a huge problem in our urban and rural areas.