By S.Sarwar.Malik
Waste-generating-population is on the increase and so is the sale of the harmful polythene, in spite of the ban. Need for adequate waste disposal facilities is being felt strongly in every district of J&k, nowadays.
It is true that the generation of waste matter is unavoidable. Wherever man sets his foot, stinking- garbage surfaces like wild mushrooms (-better say like Shingles) and so do packs of stray dogs, swarms of insects and the nuisance value thereof.
Our streets, leading from any habitation, any market, any institution, speak a tell tale sign; Tourist places being no exception; including places of pilgrimage. On the banks or even on the surface/ in the bowels of water bodies, we leave the ugly signs of our visit; even on the highest mountain Mount Everest; that ultimately harms our ecology & environment, impacting our very life negatively.
True, packed food and bottled water is an almost inseparable part of modern living but that should not be complacent to give us justification of license. Efforts are needed for minimizing it. Also its proper disposal after treatment is to be ensured.
Achen ( : phonetically I prefer dashes between syllables e:g …A-ts-hen ; but play of words interests me not, this moment) – the infamous garbage dumping site of district Srinagar, is widely known ; surrounding-residents whereof are often heard cursing their stars, administrators and politicians for their “sanoo kee” attitude but conveniently forget what havoc is created by building houses or facilities in un- planned manner or by our lack of civic sense, that is galore.
If we have to do anything for waste disposal it is to be done on this earth; not on some distant planet. If not in A-ts-hen, then suggest where? Provide a viable alternative. Finding fault is easy. Giving a solution alone is true citizenry. We are the generators of tons of garbage but we don’t contribute even an iota towards good governance but go on complaining & waiting endlessly for the government to act, even for small steps that can be taken if social responsibility is realized by all.
Lot of heat is generated when authorities try to take some step in driving home civic sense. Though Srinagar Municipal Corporation has pressed into service scores of vans for collecting garbage from door steps,daily, at a publicized time, against nominal monthly charges; besides hundreds of hard working sweepers but hard-to-mend people still litter streets & roads; of course some feet away from their own door. Selfishness galore! Keeping our house clean is good but why can’t each household keep three different buckets for storing different types of the waste generated in home and why NGOs- who thrive on our money, can not adopt different areas or for that matter why Citizen Councils/ Mohalla Committees of each Electoral segment can not participate meaningfully in good governance in this era of decentralization ? Let these apolitical councils also help the Municipal / Town area committees, in identifying suitable garbage dumping sites; treatment plants, in sharing innovative ideas about recycling reusable portion, in running various drives on self-help-basis, or at least let us appreciate the excellent cleaning drives that are being carried by Srinagar Municipal Corporation, segment-wise, on every Sunday. Just see the fleet of Trucks that make rounds from the designated dumps to the final disposal plant, day & night and at least acknowledge the great contribution of the man power involved in this work who toil, braving sun or snow, up in pre-dawn hours, on dusty, stinky spots that can be perilous for their health;that makes our environ clean & livable.
Segregation at the source point would enable revenue generation through sale of recycle-able waste (paper, plastic, tin, iron, rags etc) to dealers. Dry waste could be used as fuel. Compost could be made out of wet waste– like vegetable/ fruit peelings, leftover food, etc in small pits or organic-manure out of Lake-weeds etc.
During the annual Haj pilgrimage when over 20 lakh muslims visit Mecca & Medina for nearly 40 days, the Saudi government manages to keep these holy cities extremely clean because they have with passage of time mastered the art. Of course thousands of sweepers, mostly hailing this sub continent, supplement the machinery put in service, and the mega-disposal-plants.
Thankfully gone are the days when humans used to carry night soil tins, at least in Srinagar city . This menial job did not behoove human dignity. Even from the past 5-6 years poor non kashmiri garbage pickers/ sorters keep their body & soul together by doing the job for which we owe gratitude to them because otherwise our Firdous ba rooye zameen would turn into a stinking Jahnum in a few days.
This reminds me of a sardar teacher, whom I saw seated dejectedly in the parking lot of SKICC, in 2002, (-at the time a mega -event was going on there) with a small ‘self invented indigenously fabricated machine (portable- model)’ that he had brought all the way from Tral where in, he claimed, macadam like tiles ( + sulphuric acid as byproduct) could be made by mixing sand with the molten used- polythene- carry bags;-about which we all are so worried for its ill effects. If that gentleman happens to read these lines, I am sure THIS NEWSPAPER would welcome and publicize his invention, after demonstration, if the Science & Technology department clears it. ///
Tail-piece
Few lines from my poem,OF DOTS, DASHES & SLASHES, are hereby presented, dear reader.
See what they litter on the scalded street,//
When innards of their house spill outwards://
Gutter scum, stinky refuses, crumbs left over//
Filth, shit and rags in black poly bags//
- scattered and strewn on the street//
Reminding of ugly negatives//
Like: vanity, triviality, deceit, bigotry,//
Craft, stupidity, prejudice, hatred,//
Violence, greed …;//
The stuff people are made of …///
Parting Shot / in Lighter Vein:
An acquaintance of mine, barged in where, we- a couple of friends, were conversing,and announced a ‘news ’, in all seriousness :
“ Listen guys! Government has prepared a directory of ‘Animal Lovers & Animal Rights Activists of J&K’ and by April 2nd, 2024, all stray dogs will be apportioned for adoption among them, as per their individual vocal chord-decibel-rating,with regular free supply of poultry waste to them, as bonus”.
Acknowledge your gift-parcel , please.
- The author is a penman & Columnist, who contributes to various English Dailies, from two decades
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