Declaring Srinagar Cleanest City, A ‘Big Joke’

Srinagar:  If Srinagar is one among 10 cleanest cities of India, the cleanliness must have definitely some different meaning, this is what common people and netizens have to say after the report of a New Delhi magazine put Srinagar among the top ten cleanest cities in India.

Once known as Venice of the Orient, the Srinagar city has turned into a shanty town  because of unplanned and unorganized sanitation system run by ‘non professional’  civic heads who have been publicizing their flower vase management of one particular street  as the biggest achievement and taking the credit for the work which has never happened on ground.

“The residents of old Srinagar city and other localities are crying for absence of any sanitation and waste management policy or action on ground. Public opinion is unanimous and clear that Srinagar city has reached to saturation level because of the unplanned and unorganized construction all over and the civic bodies have issued endless permissions violating even basic norms and rules  for construction in the municipal limits of Srinagar city,” a former town planner tsaid.  A senior citizen, Muhammad Idrees of Hyderpora is aghast over the mushroom growth of structures, which have been allowed to come up keeping aside all rules and criteria. “Leave aside the unplanned constructions, I have myself seen Srinagar turning into the city of dogs and a day will come soon when dogs will outnumber the city population. All this is the result of unprofessional handling of civic bodies and mismanagement of at the top,” he alleges.

Javid Ahmed Misgar of down town Srinagar is ignorant of the term ‘sanitation’ as he feels that such body doesn’t exist at all. He argues to visit hospitals and other down town areas which are full with human excreta and other heaps of garbage.

Civil Engineer by profession, Muhammad Jamal writes on his blog that improper drainage system and absence of proper maintenance was one of the factors for increasing the magnitude of recent floods in Srinagar city. “Civic bodies claiming to make Srinagar one of the best and cleanest city is laughable and it is just media manipulation,” he adds.

A Lal Chowk trader Muhammad Khalid said that he just want over the report of the magazine that has put Srinagar city into the cleanest cities of India. “Show me where the cleanliness is. There is mud, garbage, dog excreta everywhere around. It is an open fact that few minutes of downpour submerges the entire city. There is no drainage system. Vendors have occupied each and every corner and footpaths. You have created bottlenecks in the middle of every road and still you claim that Srinagar is the cleanest city, that is indigestible,” he said. 

Another city resident said that he fails to understand how Srinagar city turns out to be cleanest city in a short span of time when recently a  survey by India’s Urban Development Ministry had ranked Srinagar city, as the fourth dirtiest among Indian cities. “I will agree with the report of the magazine if only three to five people will confirm that Srinagar is the cleanest city. A lot needs to be done. It is not only the responsibility of Civic bodies but also it is the duty and obligation of every citizen to keep the city clean,” he said. (CNS)

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now

MONTHLY	Rs 100
YEARLY	Rs 1000
LIFETIME	Rs 10000

CLICK FOR DETAILS