Waste disposal plan in place for Amarnath yatra

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 18

The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, (SASB) and the divisional administration, Kashmir, have finalised an action plan for collection and disposal of waste generated during the Amarnath yatra, beginning June 29.

A meeting held under the chairmanship of Umang Narula, Chief Executive Officer of the SASB, and Baseer Ahmed Khan, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, had detailed discussions regarding garbage collection and its disposal, maintenance of toilets and baths, operation and maintenance of the sewage treatment plants at the Baltal and Nunwan base camps and disposal of plastic waste generated during the yatra. It was decided that all solid waste generated during the yatra would be managed by the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) and the shrine board in the areas of their responsibility. The meeting was told that for scientific treatment of waste water/sewage, two sewage treatment plants (STPs), based on decentralised waste water treatment technology, had been commissioned at the Baltal and Nunwan base camps by the shrine board. The treatment units of these STPs include collection tanks, anaerobic baffled reactors and reed beds. During the course of the yatra, the STPs are regularly monitored and samples are collected from them to check their efficiency.

The shrine board CEO directed that adequate signages should be placed at the two base camps and along the yatra routes, advising the yatris to respect the environment and not to pollute it. The elaborate dos and don’ts issued by the SASB already highlight that all waste materials must be placed in the nearest dustbin and that the use of polythene material is banned in the state. The CEO urged the Deputy Commissioners of Ganderbal and Anantnag districts, CEOs of the PDA and SDA and the General Manager (Works), SASB, to ensure segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and transport non-biodegradable waste to the collection centre earmarked for the purpose, ensuring its proper disposal.

The CEOs of the PDA and the SDA told the meeting that deep composting pits would be dug at the identified locations for disposal of biodegradable waste and ensure that the pits were effectively covered with stones and soil to keep it out of the reach of wild animals.

The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, asked all agencies responsible for sanitation of the yatra track to closely monitor the day-to-day sanitation work at the yatra camps and en route and to maintain close coordination to ensure cleanliness and hygiene in the yatra area and the base camps.

The CEOs of the PDA and the SDA apprised the meeting of the latest status of the construction of landfill sites at Yenar near Pahalgam and at Serbal and the status of clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.