Pahalgam: The practice of collecting and burning leaves falling from trees has become a common practice in Kashmir As far as the health of common people is concerned this practice proves very harmful for people.
The burning of leaves leads to increase in carbon dioxide level, smoke, smog and soot in the atmosphere.
It is a big health hazardous and environmentally damaging practice it causes a lot of smoke and releases a lot of pollutants in the air, causing cough, chest pain wheezing etc especially among children and the elderly. This practice is more common in Pahalgam and its adjacent areas besides this practice also causes heating of the air cover and leads to melting of glacier ice caps. Though this problem has been put several times before the concerned authority but no action has been taken yet on the ground level. Though a desperate appeal has been made to the people to avoid the practice of leaf burning and look for alternative and environment friendly source of heat for kangries etc. it is up to the government to make proper and sufficient provision of free coal for the poor and needy people well before the advance of winters so that these people dont have to depend on leaves as a source of charcoal for kangries for winters.
According to the Kashmir State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) norms, leaves and garbage should not be burnt. Not only residents, sweepers, construction workers, hawkers and sanitation workers are also setting fire to piles of leaves on roadsides in the morning hours and afternoon. While talking to Kashmir observer Ecologist Abdul Rasheed said that piling and burning leaves was equivalent to killing a tree itself as all valuable resources of the tree were being lost. Foliage is very useful. It helps prevent the soil from heating up and retains moisture in the ground, he added.
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