Think for the future
Since Jammu and Kashmir is all set to have two smart cities in place in both the divisions some key areas need lot of attention from the administration. One such issue is environmental pollution where lot is yet to be achieved.
Our environment both in the rural and urban areas is faced with huge stress called pollution. We are confronted with a waste management crisis not only in cities and towns but elsewhere. Therefore, the issue needs serious planning and redressal of road blocks that may creep up.
According to the World Bank 46% of the population in the world is living in the rural areas. And it is here that very little attention is being provided to address the concerns raised by the lack of efforts otherwise needed for waste management.
Solid waste management in rural areas is a key issue in developing and transitioning countries due to the lack of proper waste management facilities and services. This makes the issue all the more important as lot of efforts are needed to reach to a point where solid waste management can touch satisfactory levels.
Since a majority of our population is living in rural areas these areas deserve a well planned approach to manage the solid waste as the mounds of untreated waste is consuming and polluting the environment at a much rapid pace.
During the past few months the National Green Tribunal has also been directing the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to plan something concrete and phenomenal over environmental pollution.
Presently, a majority of our population in villages do not have a proper mechanism to deal with the garbage and other solid waste coming from these areas, as a well defined mechanism to collect garbage and solid waste is mostly available and limited to urban areas only.
As the rural life is somewhat proving to be a replica of the urban life these days, the waste output is increasing almost at the same pace as it is being generated in the cities. Therefore, the management of the solid waste assumes more significance as the rural areas lack an organized system to tackle this issue.
There is a huge quantity of waste produced in villages as the life styles in village’s and populations too have improved and increased over the period of time. The villages are also facing the menace of solid and liquid waste, but due to unavailability of any services to deal with it, the issue remains unaddressed.
More so, the issue of waste management gets complicated with wrong planning and execution. Several examples can be cited where the district level municipal committees resort to dumping of solid waste in various open spaces or dumping sites.
These sites are not only promoting an unhygienic environs but also attract lot of unwanted pests and animals which cause a larger damages to the area and the people around. One example can be cited about the growing number of dogs and other rodents near these sites.
This sort of development not only risks the human life but also makes the area and its population vulnerable to various disease outbreaks. It is here that the authorities in the districts need to develop scientific ways to deal with the garbage disposal. Though things can prove to be some difficult during the initial phase but it will set a trend to surge ahead and develop and infrastructure that will help in providing answers to our long term needs.
KV Network
