Tauseef Ahmad
Bandipora, Apr 27:- Authorities have begun cleaning Asia’s second-largest freshwater lake, Wular, in Bandipora, but local residents have expressed concern about the impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission on the lake’s biodiversity.
Local villagers, while speaking with the Kashmir Despatch, appreciate the Rural Development Department’s (RDD) efforts to clean up the surrounding villages; they claim that contractors hired for the task are dumping garbage on the banks of Wular Lake, particularly in Ashtangoo village.
The Swachh Bharat Mission, aimed to clean up India’s cities, towns, and rural areas, and the government claims that it has been successful in reducing open defecation and increasing access to sanitation facilities.
However, critics argue that the program has been marred by implementation failures, including inadequate waste disposal systems and a lack of accountability for contractors responsible for collecting and disposing of waste.
One of the local resident from Ashtangoo village Abdul Rahim while speaking with the Kashmir Despatch Correspondent, said that more than ten thousand families earns their livelihood from this lake as WUCUMA is cleaning the lake from last few years now the officials while cleaning rural villages dumps waste on the banks of Wular in Ashtanga.
“These days water level regularly increases in the lake due to the heavy rainfall in last week across Kashmir valley, the contractors are throwing garbage not more than 30 meters away on the banks of Wular, we are totally dependent on for our livelihood or fodder for our animals if these govt officials do this than for what reasons they are cleaning these villages,” Gh Qadir a local resident told Kashmir Despatch.
He also said that Improper waste disposal can lead to the accumulation of trash on the Wular lake’s shores and in its waters, which can harm aquatic life and degrade water quality. Locals appealed to authorities to intervene in this matter and save Wular from garbage and pollution.
Meanwhile speaking with the Kashmir Despatch, Block Development Officer (BDO), Aloosa said that the contractors have to identify land for garbage far away from which is not of any use.”We will take strict action against any teacher found violating the order,” he added.
