Muck in old city areas mocks swachhta drive

Tanvi Anand

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 6

Mocking at the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched across the country, the old city areas of Jammu present a depressing picture with solid waste and open drains being major health hazards for the locals.

Further, poor civic sense among the residents and lack of accountability for the officials of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has created insanitary conditions in several residential areas of the old city. Roads leading to a majority of the residential areas in the historic city are dotted with solid waste dump emitting foul smell.

The situation can be easily gauged at Chowgan Slathia in the Panjtirthi area where the locals dump garbagein the open and that too at the main entrance of the municipal park.

“The area residents have virtually turned the spot into a dumping ground. Waste is dumped here without bothering about its ill-effects on the health of the people living in the area. This is happening mainly due to the non-availability of dustbins in the locality,” said Neha Salathia, a resident of Chowgan Salathia.

She said, “Jammu perhaps is the only city in the country where even safai karamcharis (sweepers) take off on Sundays.” “Moreover, the door-to-door collection scheme launched by the JMC amid much fanfare has failed to take off in several parts of the old city, forcing the locals to dump the garbage in open. Besides, no garbage lifting takes place on Sundays,” she added.

Moreover, most of the drains, particularly in the old city areas, are uncovered. “It not just presents a sickening and grim picture of sanitation but is also the root cause of various health issues,” said Monika Bali, another resident of Chowgan Salathia.

She said even though she hails from a small town of Ramban, the conditions there were far better than what was seen here.

“Drains get choked when people throw garbage in them. The situation gets worse during monsoon as sewers start overflowing. It even becomes difficult to cross the streets,” said Mamta Anand, another resident.

Similarly, heaps of garbage, potholed roads, stagnant water, and blocked drains tell a tale of indifferent attitude of the authorities and citizens who dump the waste on roads without considering about its effect on the image of the city.

Around 7.50 lakh people reside in Jammu city who generate about 400 tonnes of solid waste daily and disposal of such a huge quantity is itself a challenge.

Meanwhile, senior officials of the JMC did not respond to repeated phone calls.