Hirra Azmat
Srinagar, Mar 28: Truckloads of garbage are discarded straight into a water body in Lolab area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara since the district lacks a proper dumping sight.
A photo of one such tipper emptying garbage into Lolab Nullah has gone viral on social media triggering sharp criticism from the valley netizens.
“What a sorry state of affairs? Is this how you keep the rivers clean?” questioned a Facebook user while posting the picture.
Sources said that the district municipal body does not have any dumping ground and, as such, dumps the garbage along the embankments at a spot that is just half a kilometre away from the DC office, Kupwara.
An official of Irrigation and Flood Control department (I&FC) said the dumping of garbage in the stream is a “routine matter” and claimed the truckers unload the waste “with the permission of the Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Kupwara.”
“There is no landfill site for the dumping of garbage in this area. In absence of any alternative, the trucks unload the waste on the embankments,” said the official, wishing not to be named.
He claimed that the government had proposed to identify land for setting up the garbage dumping site and asked the I&FC department to submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR).
“Under the flood management programme, the department had submitted the DPR in 2017 but hasn’t been approved yet,” the official said, adding: “We tried to intervene regarding the proper disposal of waste but the truckers claim they have the permission of the authorities.”
“The Geology and Mining department also has a role to play in this regard as they take the royalties from the people. There are regular bids and the contracts of extraction (from the water bodies) are allotted to them,” the official said.
Contacted, the District Mining & Geology officer Kupwara, Dr Ghulam Mohidin acknowledged that the garbage was being routinely dumped in the Nullah.
“Yes, the garbage is being dumped into the stream. This is because there is no dumping site at hand. The authorities are already in the process of finding an alternative landfill site,” adding: “he will take up the matter with the higher-ups and ensure that feasible action is taken”.
Meanwhile, Executive Officer, Kupwara, Farooq Ahmad Mir denied any claims of allowing the vehicles to dump the waste in the Nullah.
“This is a baseless allegation. I am 100 percent sure that this truck (the one figuring in the photo) is not from our department. The garbage is currently dumped in a trenching ground which is away from the stream,” Mir said.
Asked about the DPR submitted by the I&FC department, he said, “We have identified 94 kanals of land in Nutnussa area of Kupwara. The paper work is almost complete and we will soon put the proposal in action.”
Director Pollution Control Board, Syed Nadeem Hussain said, “The dumping of garbage in the stream at Lolab must be true. We don’t have a single landfill site in north or south Kashmir. The only dumping site is Acchan in Srinagar.”
Hussain said, “We have repeatedly taken the matter with the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and hopefully will see some positive changes after the elections.”
