Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Nov 3: Instead of disposing of garbage and other waste material at a dumping ground, the Rural Development & Panchayati Raj authorities workers and locals are directly throwing garbage into the river at Mendhar.
Residents complained that by doing so, they are not only polluting the Mendhar river which ultimately will lead to the death of aquatic animals/life but are also causing great pain to the people who pass through the area as foul smell emanates from the water body.
The workers engaged by the RDD authorities after collecting garbage from various parts of the town, directly dump the same into the river near Bus Stand. This practice is going on for the last many years. Neither Sub Divisional/ District Administration or the Pollution Control Board authorities Poonch took notice of the issue.
“We have complained to the authorities many times, but no one listens. Now, we have given up complaining to any body,” Mushtaq Ahmed, a local resident said.
He further added that even the garbage is seen in the drains blocking them at many spots or scattered in the lanes and roads in the town. There is no affective mechanism of cleanliness or dumping of tons of garbage in this town having large population. General public has been left to suffer. There seems to be no accountability of any agency, Mushtaq maintained.
“While the authorities have provided only a few `Safaikaramcharis’ for the collection of garbage and cleanliness purpose in the town, but mostly the garbage remain lying in the lanes and roads for many days, causing inconvenience to the general public and traders. It exposes the functioning of the authorities to whom this task has been assigned, Mushtaq said.
Another local Rahul Gupta said the people dump garbage on roadside near Dharana Chowk, Main Chowk, New Bus Stand, Old Bus Stand and other locations. With very few dumpsters/ workers available, heaps of garbage remain piled up on the roadside leading to cluttered roads and clogged drains. Instead of further disposing of garbage and other waste material at a dumping site, the RDD authorities have been dumping the garbage into river polluting the water, he added.
“They are polluting the Mendhar stream, which will ultimately lead to loss of aquatic life in it. It is also causing problems to people who pass through the area, as foul smell emanates from the stream. Due to the negligence of the Rural Development authorities, the animal life in this water body has been badly affected,” another local Advocate Nadeem Khan said.
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