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| 'Illegal' dumping of garbage: 'Surya Putri' dying a slow death | | | Arteev Sharma
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 6: The official motto of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) "keen to serve better" seems to be an "eye wash" for Jammuites as the civic body, which has been assigned the job to keep the city clean, is "illegally" dumping several tonnes of solid waste in the river bed on a daily basis.
Much to the Jammuites chagrin, the river Tawi which is popularly known as 'Surya Putri' is dying a slow death. Official sources said that though much is being said to preserve the sole lifeline of Jammu city and its suburbs, it is civic body which has virtually converted the Tawi into a "dumping site."
"Over 100 metric tonnes of solid waste and sewage is being dumped in the river bed daily. Nearly 25 trucks and loaders collect the solid waste and sewage from the city and dump it in the river bed. The corporation has also hired two JCB machines to dig ditches to dump the solid waste in the river bed. Until and unless the city does have its own solid waste treatment plan the civic body employees would continue to dump waste and sewage in its river bed," sources maintained.
Sources in the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) informed, "The alarming proportion of pollution level in the Tawi can be well-gauged from the fact that the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is nearly twenty-four times the permissible limit. As per the recent survey conducted by the pollution control board, the increased BOD destroys aquatic life and leads to the spread of water-borne diseases."
"In the survey it was found that the BOD level near Bhagwati Nagar was 48 mg per litre.
The permissible limit here was only 2 mg/litre. It has resulted due to high flow of domestic and industrial sewage into the river," sources added.
"Besides this, 18 big Nullahs and numerous small tributaries that flow into the Tawi also add to pollution level in the Tawi," sources said, adding that the problem arises when water level in the river increases due to which the entire solid waste heap starts overflowing.
"With the increase in water level the garbage starts floating and piles up on the river banks which not only emits smell but also becomes a health hazard for the families settled near the river banks," sources averred.
Official sources said that the corporation had mooted an Rs 213 crore proposal for the improvement of drainage system in the city last year. "The proposal remained on papers and no further breakthrough was achieved in this regard," said sources.
Sources further said that Corporation had also floated tender for setting up 250 TDP Solid Waste Treatment Plant with RDF technology on Built Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) basis to generate energy. "After the completion of both projects, 80 percent problem of solid waste would be redressed," they said. |
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