Waste treatment plant remains non functional
Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 8: Poor waste management is threatening the ecology of Kashmir’s famed tourist resort Sonmarg as authorities are yet to run a waste treatment plant that was installed for proper disposal of the waste last year.
As the treatment plant remains shut the unattended waste has piled up outside the plant, worrying the environmentalists who believe that the improper waste disposal would affect the nearby Tajiwas glaciers and wildlife sanctuary. “With the increase in the tourist footfalls and pilgrims, more waste will be generated. It will ultimately affect the ecology, if not disposed of properly,” an expert said.
With an aim to treat the waste on scientific lines, the Government installed a treatment plant at the Sarbal area of the resort at an estimated cost of around Rs 3-crores. The plant has a capacity to process 5-Metric tons of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste in a day. Besides, the disintegrator can treat around 1-metric tonne of plastic daily.
An official told Excelsior that the plant has remained non-functional since the trial run conducted a year ago. “The plant is ready but it is not treating the waste which is really unfortunate,” he said.
He added that the treatment plant becomes more important in view of the upcoming yatra season. “With the increase in tourist footfall more garbage will be generated and absence of the waste plant will lead to pilling of the waste in and around the green meadows,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer, Sonmarg Development Authority, Mushtaq Ahmad, told Excelsior that the plant is not working because of a road-widening project. “The project might come under the new alignment of Zojilla- Sonmarg road near Sarbal. We were earlier asked to shift the plant but we declined it as a lot of effort was put into its making. Some portion of the site might get affected anyway”, he said, adding that they would make the plant functional in one week.
He said that they have also issued the contractor for running the plant to a private company.
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