poonam mahajan
JAMMU: The City of Temples is dotted with green patches on either side of the Surya Putri Tawi. Responding to the demands of the morning walkers and environment warriors, the State Tourism and Forest Departments joined hands together to not only save and preserve the ‘green gold’ but also spread awareness among the general masses on how to retain its beauty. Two hot spots, ‘Manda’ and ‘Mahamaya’ were shortlisted and walking tracks were prepared to allow morning walkers enjoy the serenity.
Lakhs of rupees were spent on the ambitious projects but over a period they are losing its sheen and crumbling brick by brick.
Hundreds of people walk on the Manda Walking Track on daily basis facing numerous hardships. The black topped track is not only uneven and rough but has been eroded at several places.
The resting points also paint a shabby look, as they lack proper maintenance. The sign boards are aplenty but due to poor implementation the morning walkers feel dejected.
Despite making hue and cry, the morning walkers have failed to convince the senior bureaucrats to review the status of these projects and help them restore their glory.
Compared to Manda, the status of Mahamaya walking strip beyond famous Mahamaya temple is in bad shape and is seldom visited by anyone in the absence of its poor maintenance. It has been seen that activists have been organising meetings in these parks to promote their cause and reach out to the who’s who of the City of Temples but beyond promoting their own cause they too seldom raise their voices in support of poor maintenance of these lifelines.
Dumping of waste material and other material in the vicinity of these walking tracks pose a great risk to the clean and green environment and instead of cleaning the air they are turning these green patches in to polluted zones.
