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| Udhampur under threat of waterborne diseases | | Solid Waste dumped in Tawi | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 18: As Municipal Council Udhampur continues to dump the solid waste near the banks of Tawi river in outskirts of the town, the threat of waterborne diseases is looming large over the town.
Municipal Council inspite of repeated reminders through various news reports published in Early Times from last 2 years is unscientifically dumping solid waste near the banks of Tawi river on Jammu Srinagar National Highway. As already reported sources in Health Department have revealed that patients suffering from intestinal and other similar diseases is on rise due to intake of polluted water which is supplied by Public Health Engineering Department ( PHE) from its various water supply schemes that are fed water from Tawi river.
The Tawi river flowing through Udhampur has been contaminated with municipal solid waste which is being dumped in the forest area in Udhampur outskirts. Sources in Health Department have told Early Times that during ongoing rainy season the water gushing from the mountains takes solid waste into Tawi and same water is lifted by PHE for being supplied to local population.
" The filtration plant of PHE cannot clean the water mixed with municipal solid waste as there are very harmful bacteria in this waste. In addition to solid waste lot of liquid waste coming out from residential areas as markets also enters Tawi. It is the duty of Municipal authorities and district administration to take urgent steps to stop this practice. There is lot of apprehension of outbreak of cholera or gastro intestinal diseases in the district " said a senior doctor (name withheld ) posted in District Hospital Udhampur
As reported in past Municipal Council Udhampur has made river Tawi their new dumping site. Ironically the site which has been preferred by the Municipal authorities as garbage dumping site is in close vicinity of the river Tawi whose water is used for the domestic purposes by the residents of the area living along the banks of river and its outskirts. The Municipal Council has been continuously the dumping garbage near the river side in forest area and thus risking thousands of lives. In addition to it people allege that lot of muck and crushed sand is also being filled in Tawi by a private stone crushing unit run by a constructing company Gammon India near village Moudh . This is also causing a threat to this water-body
Pertinent to mention that a report submitted before National Green Tribunal (NGT) few years back had revealed some astonishing facts about Jammu & Kashmir vis a vis dumping of solid waste in the state. The report says that J&K has 100 % open dumping of Municipal Solid Waste which includes its Urban Local Bodies as well (ULB).
Due to absence of scientific waste management techniques the Municipal Solid Waste is dumped in open across cities of Srinagar and Jammu along with other towns which are controlled by the Directorates of Urban Local Bodies in Srinagar and Jammu. The report was submitted by Government of India in 2015 before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is an apex enviro- legal body looking after litigations related to environmental pollution. The report has ranked J&K state at 31st place vis a vis management of municipal solid waste across country. Goa , Kerala and Tamilnadu are the best three states which have proper scientific mechanism in place vis a via Management of Solid Waste. |
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