Dumping site makes life miserable for villagers

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 9

Gujjars residing at Kenduwala village on Monday said stink emanating from the dumping site in the Baddi industrial area had made their lives miserable.

In a memorandum submitted to Nalagarh SDM Prashant Deshta, the villagers said it had become difficult for them to live there and in the last two years, 20 cows and five buffaloes had died due to various diseases.

Five families comprising 30 members can’t enter their jhuggis due to the stink.

They said rain had spelt doom as the entire stretch had become slushy and open dumping of waste was a violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules. With little precaution having been undertaken to ensure their safety, residents pleaded before the SDM to provide them relief.

Bashir Mohammed, a resident, said they could not graze their animals as the conditions were so unhygienic.

The SDM said the residents’ grievances were genuine and the place was not fit for living. He said a notice under Section 133 of the Public Premises Act would be issued to the Municipal Committee, Baddi, to ensure proper disposal of waste as per the laid-down norms.

An environmentalist from Himdhara, Manshi Asher, who also visited the site on Monday, said it was a violation of environmental laws.

Despite representing the issue on several occasions before the State Pollution Control Board and the local administration in the last few months, little relief has been provided to locals.