Deepali Koul
If you have ever been to the city’s famous lanes and inside streets, one of the most enduring sights that catch your attention and give you a cringe is the overflowing putrid trashcans of the JMC, teeming with filth and waste. While most of it is lying elsewhere, It is a perplexing thought that no one ever takes notice of the fact that the filth acts as a source of dreadful diseases especially in the rainy season which is considered to be the apt time for mosquitoes and flies to breed in hundreds.
Not only this, its also bad for the cattle that feed on this waste. It is already an established fact that polythene is a non biodegradable entity and can cause havoc if it enters the biological food chain. The animals feeding on it eventually succumb to its ill effects. And yet it remains a part and parcel of our daily chores and it eventually finds its way down to the waste bins in the open environment. The plastic litter remains in the soil forever. Come rains and the roads clog. The drainage system collapses completely. The canoes could outperform the cars. Most of the times, the waste is burnt and the area is covered with smoke with the contents flying all over like a lava lump around the uncatered bin. This litter and open garbage is the major reason for the stray dogs menace in the city. The authorities catch hold of them and very conveniently let them off on the national highway, for them to be ruthlessly killed by the speeding vehicles. How do we thank them for such an incredibly prudent and innovative management!!
The JMC bins are an embarrassment, to say the least, and their deplorable condition is a proof of improvident and paunchy governance of the administration. The absenteeism has become a customary regularity. Our connoisseurs, perhaps, don’t understand the repercussions of this dereliction. Maintaining hygiene and cleanliness in the city should be the topmost priority of the Municipal department and that is what they seem to fail at. Jammu is already reeling under power woes, water supply problems, traffic congestion, increasing pollution, potholed roads, unemployment and poverty. Waste mismanagement and disposal problems are the last thing that it could afford in its pandora’s box. Perhaps we need draconian laws for simple objectives i.e. to keep our city clean.
Ask any safaiwala of your area and the only response you seem to get is that they had not been paid any salary for 3-4 months resulting in the labor strike and thus AWOL. Isn’t is heart wrenching to see that someone out there has been too busy making money so as to completely forget to pay the dues to the poor labourers.? Does it not become evident that the local administration has been indulging in corrupt practices , enough to even maltreat the safaiwala. ? If the base is rotten, how do we manage to pledge that we can yank out the rot from the top of our hierarchical system? How does such an attitude lead to any development at all anywhere in the country. Believe me; unscrupulous people spare no one today. No one.
It takes a very little effort for the Municipality to fob off all inconvenient questions by citing one reason or the other. The simplicity with which the authorities make promises of improved condition and cleanliness is not so simple to perceive. They are neither responsible nor feel accountable for their conduct. Yet, it always takes two to tango. The citizens are no less culprits. People are quite buoyed up to break laws despite the existing laws and the explicit signs asking them not to litter. They spit, urinate and throw plastic wrappers anywhere and everywhere they feel like with utmost impunity making places unbearably filthy. If there were enough deterrent laws for this, the litter bugs would have learnt a lesson. When one individual sees another litter with all the liberty, he does it too. Many developed countries have ensured stringent punishment for those who indulge in such practices. The punishment ranges from considerable fine to making them clean their own filth. Ofcourse no one wants to feel disgraced by doing so thus you will find a cleaner city.
Political management has taken everyone for a ride. People are not aware of the laws and those who are, do not abide by it. When the leaders break the laws without any sense of retribution, the followers follow. The decision making is faulty and the enduring solutions are missing. Politics and corruption are leading the way and serious governance has taken a back seat. In such a situation, the fundamental problems would only aggravate as waste management system lacks teeth. The public policies are flawed and the administration is not in a position to address the demands and requirements of the city. The state has gone back to the times of being in a ‘Non interfering position’ of Laizze Fairism. There has to be a proper waste management system in the city. The no. of waste bins should be increased and they also need to be managed efficiently. People should be advised to be more responsible and strict punishments/ fines should be imposed on the litter bugs. An irresolute state is not an answer to bad governance. J&K should redefine its role from being a limiting actor to an all time explicit actor.
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