Swan turns into waste dumping ground

Rajesh Sharma

Una, January 18

The Swan river along with its network of 73 tributaries and micro water channel systems has become a dumping ground for household waste. This is happening as only one of the 245 panchayats in the district has a solid waste management system. Besides, municipal waste is also being dumped along the river. The garbage is adversely affecting the flora and fauna ecosystem of the river, while plastic waste is hindering the percolation of water to ground aquifers.

Affecting flora, fauna

• The garbage is adversely affecting the flora and fauna ecosystem of the river, while plastic waste is hindering the percolation of water to ground aquifers
• During the monsoons, waste from even remote villages gets washed into the river system. While a part of the garbage gets buried under sand and gravel, the remaining flows into the Sutlej in Ropar at the confluence of the two rivers

The Swan finds a mention in the ancient Indian scriptures as the revered ‘Sombhadra’, but human beings, whom the river had nurtured and sustained for centuries, are contaminating its waters with waste. About 85 per cent of the rainfall in the district ends up in the Swan while the remaining drains into the Gobind Sagar reservoir. The Swan river system helps in the percolation of rain water to the ground aquifers, which sustain agriculture on the adjoining fertile land, also referred to as the food bowl of the state.

Waste mgmt plants

Solid waste management plants are being set up in each of the five subdivisions at a cost of Rs3.64 crore. The plants are proposed at Kutheda Khairla village in Amb, Saghnai in Gagret, Jhalera in Una, Palkwah in Haroli and Muchali in Bangana. —Sanjeev Thakur, Project officer, DRDA

Ajouli is the only panchayat in Una subdivision to have a solid waste management system. Waste is segregated at the household level and transported to a common facility where plastic material is shredded and sold to industrial units, bio-degradable material is composted and biomedical waste, including sanitary pads, are incinerated. The rest is sold to junk dealers.

In all other panchayats, waste is generally dumped at an secluded open space. The Una Municipal Committee also dumps the city waste in the river at Rampur village. During the monsoons, waste from even remote villages gets washed into the river system. While a part of the garbage gets buried under sand and gravel, the remaining flows into the Sutlej in Ropar district at the confluence of the two rivers.

Sanjeev Thakur, Project Officer of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), said that solid waste management plants were being set up in each of the five subdivisions at a cost of Rs 3.64 crore. The plants were proposed at Kutheda Khairla village in Amb, Saghnai in Gagret, Jhalera in Una, Palkwah in Haroli and Muchali in Bangana subdivisions.

Thakur said that 60 per cent grant had been released for creating infrastructure of all five waste management plants, which would serve a cluster of surrounding villages. He added that these would have facilities for bio-composting, incineration and shredding, based on the type of material to be recycled. Once these waste management systems start working, new ones would be sanctioned, he said.