Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 6: Thousands of inhabitants of Kot-Bhalwal, Mishriwala, Purkhoo, Raipur, Domana, Kalari, Kalakaam, Asarwan, Agore, Kangrail, Dhyaran and other adjoining areas under the banner of Kandi Belt Movement today held a massive protest demonstration against the Jammu Municipal Corporation move to dump garbage at Bhalwal near Degree College Mishriwala.
Thousands of people including Sarpanches and Panches of Block Bhalwal and Block Mathwar assembled near dumping site Bhalwal and blocked the road for several hours. They raised slogans against Municipal Corporation and local MLA for ignoring the concern of local populace.
SHO, police station Gharota, Gurmeet Singh and SDM Jammu North, Mohammad Ilyas, tried to pacify the demonstrating people but all in vain.
Addressing the gathering, KD Singh, Chairman, Kandi Belt Movement strongly condemned the illegal move of the Jammu Municipal Corporation to dump garbage in Kot-Bhalwal, a highly populated area of Jammu district in violation of Solid Waste Management Rules.
He said that people of Kot-Bhalwal and adjoining villages have been protesting for last about a month against the illegal dumping of garbage by JMC but administration has paid no heed. “Kandi Belt Movement will intensify the ongoing stir if the Government failed to take notice of the people’s demand”, he added and criticized the local MLA and Minister for Health, Bali Bhagat, for not listening to the people’s grievances.
Ram Mohammad, social activist and leader of Kandi Belt Movement said that JMC identified the land for dumping of garbage at Bhalwal in the year 2004 but after representations and protests by locals, Government gave in writing that no garbage will be dumped in the area as it is highly populated.
He said that in 2011 Government again tried to dump garbage at Bhalwal forcibly but the attempts were foiled by the local residents. The then Deputy CM and officers of JMC agreed to shift the dumping site to some alternate place as the area nearby had University, College, Schools, temples, mosques, Madarasa, Gurudwara, Church, etc and was thickly populated.
Team Jammu, Chairman, Zorawar Singh, was also present and extended his support to the ongoing stir of the inhabitants of Kot-Bhalwal and adjoining areas led by Kandi Belt Movement.
Later about 3 PM, the protesters dispersed on their own.
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