Launched country-wide few years back the Swachh Bharat Mission to give a clean environment looks has not touched Jammu yet. The garbage strewn roads and streets are the indicators of how Jammu perceives cleanliness. People here hardly have any sense of civic cleanliness which in itself is a reflection of personal cleanliness at the domestic environment. The poor garbage disposal system with a non-processing plant for garbage has been responsible for such a pathetic condition. Government talks of speeding up of development and modernisation but there is no tlak of a scientific garbage disposal system. Whatever has been conceived till date is just confined to the official worn-out files caught in the web of political lethargy. Till date no city of the State figures in the Swachch Bharat list released by the Union Government. This speaks volumes about all the cleanliness drive carried out till date here. Both capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar are facing the same old story of ‘everywhere it is garbage’ in the open and when it rains roads get flooded with sewer water and drain chocked by the garbage dumped by the residents. This has been a common feature every year. Placing high priority on improving J and K’s rank on cleanliness indices, the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had said the government has shown abundant resolve to replace the unscientific and outdated systems with a technology that can handle segregated and un-segregated solid waste better, without causing harm to environment and ecology. Emphasising upon strengthening municipal laws governing urban local bodies to effectively deal with growing problem of waste disposal, he had said due to rapid and haphazard urbanisation, the State needs to thwart the potential threat which is staring our environment in the face. A futuristic vision is needed to combat the colossal waste which goes untreated and left in the open posing a danger to the lives of the people. Government can tap energy from the waste recycling which can to some extent take care of power supply situation if done scientifically which can cushion the high-cost involved.
