By Reyaz Ahmed, NAK,
Baramulla : On World Environment Day, environment seems not concern of Municipal council Baramulla (MCB) as cleaning and beautification drive lunched by MCB have proved mere utilization of funds in hush up as banks of river Jhelum pose hideous with huge heaps of garbage being dumped over them.
The river has virtually turned into a garbage-dumping site mostly in this north Kashmir district Baramulla. Right from Khwaja Bagh upto Khanpora, most of the people including the sweepers of municipality are using this river as the garbage pit.
Almost everyday tons of garbage is being thrown into this river and the municipality authorities are not bothered to direct its sweepers not to practice it. Just pass through Azad Gunj to Kakar Hammam, old town area and you are greeted with the foul smell of the garbage piled on the banks of this historic river.
“Where we can dump this huge heap of garbage? The garbage-dumping site is far away from here. We think the water will carry this garbage with it and there is no need to worry,” said a sweeper of municipality in Azad Gunj Baramulla pleading anonymity.
“Thought the MCB has lunched cleaning and beatification drive for river Jhelum but it has proved futile as the sweepers of MCB throw garbage and filth into the river despite building garbage pits,” said Mushtaq Ahmed of old town Baramulla.
“The people in this town are utilizing the free services of river Jhelum and they do not care about the pollution of this important water resource,” believes an elderly person Abdul Rahim Kumar of Khanpora Baramulla.
Kumar adds, “When I was young, I would wash my face five times a day for offering my prayers but now the water is so polluted that even I do not want to look towards it.”
The people have constructed about 150 toilets on the banks of this river just from Khwaja Bagh upto Khanpora and the fecal matter directly flows into the river Jhelum.
Besides this fecal matter, the dead animals are being put into the river which has added into the gravity of the situation as the whole area is being supplied the same water after ‘filtration’ is being done by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department.
“We receive the same water but that is filtered by PHE. Off course there have been many cases when many rats were recovered from the taps but that can be the carelessness of PHE employees,’ said Nasreena Shafi , teacher ,resident of main market Baramulla.
Almost the whole area is aware about the problems that could be an outcome of polluted water but most of the people blame the government for not providing any alternative. “We have so many times approached our DC but nothing concrete was done by the authorities for our clean drinking water,” rued Haleema Begum of Khanpora.
Interestingly the union minister for water resources Prof. Saif-u-din Soz is from the same place and now the people of this district are hopeful that all the problems would be redressed in the short span of time.
When contacted President Municipal council Baramulla Abdul Rashid Malla, he while that denying the allegation that scavengers of MCB has been throwing garbage on the banks of river Jhelum.
Abdul Rashid Malla further said that MCB fenced the river banks but despite that people still at most of the place people throw garbage on river banks without any mental reservation.
“Though we have built garbage-bins but unfortunately people have been reluctant on throwing the garbage in the river and at its banks,’ he adds.
However, he said that MC Baramulla will take all necessary measures to stop people from throwing garbage and other hazardous things on river banks.