A large number of garbage heaps can be seen along various roads in Jammu. Already the people were facing problems due to this scattered garbage and flith and now the strike of Safai Karamcharis has worsened the situation.
The presence of the stinking waste in the heart of the city, Parade is now causing untold suffering to residents particularly owners of eateries, businessmen and residents of the adjoining areas.
A heap of garbage can be spotted on Parade Road just opposite the gate of stadium where safai walas dump the waste from nearby localities. “Garbage has been lying here for past four-five days. It has started emitting smell but nobody has come to lift it,” said Varun, a resident of the area.
The story is not much different inside city where heaps of garbage can be spotted easily at various places. The containers placed by the Municipal Corporation for garbage collection are full to the brim with trash spilling out, but these have not been transported to the dumping site.
“I donot understand what does JMC has in mind while selecting dumping sites. One can find huge heaps of garbage, flith on circular road just few meters away from the famous Shiv temple (Peer Kho) where large number of pilgrims visit. The smell and dirt pollutes the whole environment and it becomes difficult to breathe. Many tourists also visit the place what impression are they getting and what would they think how temples and temple surroundings are maintained in city of temples,” said Shatrughan Jamwal, a resident of adjoining area.
When Swaach Bharat campaign was initiated by the Prime Minister all local leaders had yielded brooms to get their photographs clicked. The campaign has failed to bring any change in hygienic condition of the city.
Moreover, in the outskirts vacant plots have turned into dumping sites for the garbage. The residents of nearby houses complained that Safai Wallas often dumped garbage collected from the nearby areas in these vacant plots, which was unhygienic and against the norms. No doubt the residents of the area are equally responsible for this but the responsibility to aware people and provide them a clean environment is mainly on the concerned agencies and action needs to be taken against the defaulters.
The residents in outskirts often resort to burning garbage in the absence of its regular lifting. However, burning waste is polluting the environment and enhancing breathing problem among the people. But people find no other option to get rid of this garbage and flith and thus practice the same.
The need of the hour is that the concerned agencies should take appropriate action in this regard and maintain hygiene as dirt and filth can invite many diseases in this hot season.