Shiban Khaibri
It should be a matter of concern to us living in the city of Jammu and its adjoining areas, as to how is the garbage and domestic refuse treated by those state departments and other concerned institutions who are supposed to ensure its removal and its proper disposal. It is again a matter of serious concern that the city garbage, wherever it is arranged to be lifted, is dumped elsewhere and not treated or disposed of properly. There is no apparent policy or any set system based on modern technology to treat the ever increasing measure of garbage in our state especially in Jammu. The result is that its haphazard handling for its dumping elsewhere in the periphery of the city of Jammu, mostly near or at our fast depleting and withering forests near the city, is fraught with consequences detrimental to the environment, ecology and even smooth traffic system. The ad-hoc and unscientific approach in its dumping instead of a proper disposal, has started showing its ill effects and needs to be addressed before it becomes unmanageable.
A few days back, the entire railway traffic on Jammu-Udhampur route got disrupted due to the heaps of garbage and malba or building material waste, falling on the track from the areas in the forests where the same had been just thrown to ensure a short term cosmetic treatment of those areas from where it had been lifted. The Railway authorities urged the government to help ensure non recurrence of such incidents when the rail traffic was reportedly disrupted for the second day in the second week of this month. A Northern Railways press release of Aug 7, clarified that nearly 1200 cubic metre of garbage which was dumped near the road above and its sudden breakage, fell on the track disturbing the traffic. The authorities also said that due to continuous seepage and obstruction to flow of water by the dumped garbage along the road side, the landslides took place obstructing the flow of Railway traffic. A 20 meter of the tunnel reportedly got damaged. Removal of that dumped garbage from the road above the track has been requested by the senior authorities of the Railways to avoid recurrence of such incidents.
It is expected that the two premier organizations , the Jammu Municipal Committee and the Jammu Development authority work in complete unison and cooperation to ensure keeping Jammu city a clean city and at the outset, at least, ensure the identified points , the first entry points like Railway station area neat and clean but it can be observed that right from the main entry gate area where fruit vendors and other hawkers are catering to the passengers’ needs , heaps of garbage, filth , eateries left over waste and the like is found strewn every where right upto the baggage screening point . The areas where matadors, taxis, autos and private vehicles are parked, depict a picture of a wide area of dumping of garbage due to total negligence and carelessness of the health, municipal and other departments. Flies and foul smell from garbage heaps and stench from open urinating and defecating points make the visit to the Railway station by the traveling public a nightmarish experience. There is nothing like sanitation here, even the nearest stairs from the taxi stand to the luggage screening point depict a picture of complete negligence and recklessness on the part of the concerned authorities of the JMC, JDA and the Railways.
About the condition of the city, less said the better. It may be emphasized that the city does not comprise the selected areas of the VVIPs or a few posh areas only. The main city can be seen punctuated with heaps of garbage and rubbish at numerous points even near the very limited number of municipal trolleys and containers. All the time the garbage thrown gets strewn on the roads and into the lanes making the passers by feel troubled. It is an irony that there is no system prevalent as to where the households have to throw the garbage and household waste to be lifted and cleared by the municipal authorities. The empty plots are easily turned into garbage dins by those few who may be living near by and have no alternate way out. Then again, the usual dumping place is also the drains on both sides of the roads and lanes where most of the garbage is thrown and the chocked drains vomit all out on the streets after a moderate downpour making roads and lanes virtually blocked for smooth running of traffic or even difficult for pedestrians. As if it was not enough, the digging of roads and lanes by ERA and other agencies for laying sewer pipes have not been repaired and black topped for nearly two years. The condition of such roads and lanes are an open dismal story of the total neglect of the authorities towards mitigating the vows of the citizens using them or living near them, not to speak of the political leaders who on the eve of elections alone make their presence with promises never to be fulfilled. The bosses of the public works department along with the Minister in charge may symptomatically visit just one such road of Naseeb Nagar – Janipur, down to Paloura to see for themselves where must the shoe of the Aam Aadmi be pinching for the last two years not to speak of the condition of their two wheelers and four wheelers. The ditches, dug out middle patches, heaps of garbage, overflowing broken and worn out drains, the filth, the smell around is making the life of the residents miserable. The condition of other roads in similar way can be gauged by a visit to this road only. It shall prove an eye opener and an acid test. None is addressing the problem. Who is going to tackle the ever increasing flow of garbage in the city of temples? Who shall take pains to make this city clean and green with motorable roads and useable lanes, by-lanes and inner colony roads? Who shall prevent the spreading of diseases and infections due to untreated filth and squalor besides injuries and falls to the passers by on such humpty ploughed and ravaged roads? Is the Government concerned only for the comforts of the political elite and VVIPs as preparations for smooth transit in respect of the approaching Darbar move have already started? Only those roads through which these very fortunate ones have to pass, shall be maintained, decorated , painted and beautified at the cost of the bare minimum comforts of the public that elects such leaders to rule and arranges for their salaries, perks and cozy comforts.
The last Assembly elections saw more than 65% turnout by the people of this state thus reaffirming their approval of having chosen the right and the correct option of joining India as an inseparable part and parcel of it in 1947 but the Chief Minister, a few months later, floated the new queer idea that these elections were only for sadak, bijli aur Paani . Let us momentarily assume that even, then why has the government not come up-to the minimum expectations of the people even on Sadak? The state of affairs of ” Bijli aur Paani “shall be discussed in these columns in due course.
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