Jhelum: Awaiting Attention (I)

Money being dumped in, but so is solid waste

The Kashmir Times, December 21, 2007

By Athar Parvaiz

With the major task of “saving” the world-famous Dal Lake at hand, the lifeline of the Kashmir valley – River Jehlum which is also historically, religiously, ecologically, aesthetically and heritage-wise significant – is hardly getting any attention from the Jammu and Kashmir government. Over the last many years the river has been witnessing heavy pollution due to the increasing discharge of huge quantities of untreated sewage, effluents, human excrement and municipal garbage into the river with dense human settlements straddling the banks of this principal waterway almost all along its course.

Jhelum, which drains most of the Kashmir region, runs its course between the Pir Panchal and the Zanskar ranges. The river length from the point it originates in the Pir Panchal range at an elevation of 1800m upto the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri-Baramulla, is approximately 240 kilometers. The total catchment area of the Jhelum river upto the point where it crosses the LoC, is about 15,000 Sq. Km comprising 12,750 sq km catchment area intercepted upto the barrage of the Uri-I Hydroelectric Power Project.

Presently, the J & K government is grappling with the huge challenge thrown by the dying Dal Lake which has made it oblivious to the threat facing the River Jhelum. It has now become a common refrain in the Kashmir valley that Dal Lake has got converted into a cesspool and both the experts and common people hold the concerned governmental departments responsible for the deterioration, the significant water bodies of Kashmir have undergone. Though the people also share the responsibility for maintaining the quality of water resources of the valley, yet it was strongly felt during the study that the government and its departments responsible for the monitoring of water bodies, have scanty approach about the responsibilities they share.

In August 2005, the government embarked on an ambitious Rs 25.55 crore project for “Beautification of Jhelum Riverbank” which envisaged to cover 3.6 kilometers of riverbank from Sonawar to Tankipora in the Srinagar city as part of a plan to give a further boost to the tourism potential of the Srinagar city. This, later, also entailed the omission of more than 450 illegal structures along the riverbank but not before the J & K High Court issued a direction in this regard. However, unless the beatification process is coupled with serious scheme for addressing the constantly growing pollution of Jhelum waters, such measures would only have a cosmetic value.

It was terribly strange to find out that the Pollution Control Board (PCB) of a region known for its water resources and aquatic tourist places, is not equipped with the wherewithal for conducting Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal coliform tests which are among the important parameters for determining the pollution levels in water bodies. When asked about the reasons for not conducting these tests, the officials of the PCB said that they have forwarded a project to the government for upgradation of infrastructure in the PCB laboratory which will “enable it to equip itself fully” by March next year. .

The Srinagar Municipal (SMC), which looks after the civic affairs of the Srinagar city, spends a fair amount of money in the name of maintenance of civic affairs of the city. As per figures available with the SMC, the annual budget of the Corporation for the year 2006-2007 is Rs 4627.87 Lacs. Out of this; Rs. 2433.36 Lacs are earmarked for health fund wherein Solid Waste Management (SWM) activities are carried out. This works upto about 52.58 percent of the annual budget of the corporation. Another fraction of Rs.422 lacs are earmarked for POL, purchase of vehicle and materials; Rs 1737.86 lacs are meant for salaries whereas Rs. 191.00 Lacs is supposed to be spent on workshop expenses; Rs 50.00 Lacs are for purchase of vehicle parts & repairing and a provision of Rs.82.50 lacs is for office and other contingency expenditures. The Corporation is incurring about Rs.2080.41 per MT on primary collection (mainly on account of salary of sanitation workers) and Rs.672.84 per MT on transportation and vehicle maintenance on the presumption of 250 MT of waste collection and transportation every day.

However the Economic Reconstruction Agency – the Executing Agency of developmental works in J & K, funded by the Asian Development Bank – which has carried out a study prior to its launch of Multi-sector Project for Infrastructural rehabilitation in J & K, has made some damning observations about the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. “The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) officials have informed us that approximately 250 MT of municipal solid waste is collected daily. As per 2001 census the overall population of Srinagar Municipal Corporation limits comprising of old and new areas is 9, 95,845. The Municipal authorities did not know the per capita generation. Municipality did not know the Physcio chemical characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste either”, says the study.

It further adds: “The main solid waste generation sources are residential, commercial and market, slum, slaughterhouses, institutional organization like hospitals, hotels and restaurants, small and big scale industries, construction and demolition waste (debris) etc. but their quantity and quality data were not available with the authorities.” It goes on to observe: “The condition of Solid Waste Management of Srinagar city is poor. Solid waste management is a civic responsibility and in spite of the substantial expenditure incurred on it, proper sanitary condition is not achieved. Whenever problems arise, stopgap solutions are adopted resulting in duplication of efforts and expenditure. Basic information is not available at any oneplace.”

The SMC officials betray a blank expression when they are asked about some basic things regarding the municipal management. For example the corporation officials do not know how many households in the city have flush toilets, how many have pit latrine systems, how many have toilet systems and how many have no toilet systems. Majority of the population of Srinagar city -- which is a host to the Dal Lake and offers path to the River Jhelum -- disposes off the solid waste on streets, open space, drains, lanes and storm water drainage. The entire generated Municipal Solid Waste is not stored in community bins. There is inadequate number of collection bins so solid waste gets heaped on roadsides and on the sides of streets. In order to save labor at many places, many workers also burn the smaller heaps or dump them into open drains. This system has resulted in unhygienic and poor environmental conditions in the city. When this is the state of affairs in the capital city, the awareness level among the people and the government officials in other towns along the banks of river Jhelum, can only be imagined. (to be concluded)

* Athar Parvaiz is the staffer with The Kashmir Times. This is the first article of a series of articles as part of a fellowship awarded to the author by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi.

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