Manpower crunch hits SMC’s sanitation drive

Srinagar:  Manpower crunch has badly hit the sanitation drive in the summer capital city.

Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) said only 60 percent of manpower and 50% of machinery are available to clean the city.

There are more than 70 temporary garbage collection points across Srinagar. These include Bagh e Mehtab Railway Bridge, Rawalpora, Hari Singh High Street, Kaksarai Karan Nagar, Syed Hamidpora, Lal Bazar, Eidgah, Bemina, outside Kashmir University, 90 feet road, Channpora, Natipora, and Noor Bagh.

Mudasir Ahmad, Sanitation Officer at SMC, told The Kashmir Monitor that despite facing a manpower crunch, they are working hard to keep the city clean.

“We will be closing these temporary garbage collection points. They will be replaced by the compactors. The compactors will be placed at designated spots for garbage collection. The new equipment will be arriving soon which will help in keeping the city clean,” said Mudasir.

Despite SMC’s tall claims, garbage is piling up at different locations across Srinagar.  “Lot of waste has piled up in our area. It is raising a stink,” said Mohammad Shafi, a resident of Syed Hamidpora.

He said many people were taken ill because of the open garbage site in the area. “I had diarrhea some days ago and doctors told me it is due to the infection. The garbage dump is the breeding ground for infections,” Shafi added.

Afaan Ahmad, a resident of Lal Bazar said that there are heaps of garbage outside GD Goenka School. “Foul smell emanating from it is unbearable. Hundreds of street dogs and cows feed on this dump. People are afraid to move alone on the road,” he noted.