Sajid Raina
Bandipora, Dec 31(KNO): Like last few years, this year too, Asia’s famed Wular lake in North Kashmir Bandipora district remained a victim of garbage dumping site as the administration failed to find a proper dumping site.
In 2020, the authorities repeatedly claimed that they would find an alternative site away from the lake but the sanitation staff working with Bandipora municipality continue to collect all garbage from various areas of town and dump it near Zalwan area on the banks of Wular.
In July the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had also issued notices to government of India and J&K administration on Public Interest Litigation, seeking directions for removing garbage dumped on the banks of Wular Lake, Asia’s largest freshwater lake.
Further this year, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had also directed the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to file an action taken against the report on alleged dumping of solid municipal waste in the Wullar Lake.
Notably, Asia’s largest freshwater body, the Wular Lake is a designated protected site under Ramsar convention.
Locals said that the Municipal Council Bandipora has been using the area as a dumping site for the past 50 years. They say scores of a mini-trucks line-up there every day to dump waste into the lake surrounding the picturesque hamlet and the accumulation of garbage has turned the water body into a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“Decades ago, people used to have Wular Lake water for drinking purposes, but today its water is polluted and not only garbage, but even construction debris is also being dumped on the lakebeds,” the locals said.
The residents said that despite demonstrating many times to seek immediate redressal of the issue, the concerned department showed lackadaisical attitude towards the issue.
An official said, “An estimated 450 metric tons of garbage are dumped at the site every month which excludes the waste floating from Sumbal and Hajin areas through river Jhelum into the lake.”
He said that the waste is increasing with passing time.
Earlier, the same year the administration claimed that they would relocate the site and will save the Wullar, but this did not happen this year too as the area is being polluted in the same way.
Concerned authorities did not respond to repeated calls from this reporter to seeks their comments about the same—(KNO)
