Waste dumping on hill slopes opposed

Our Correspondent

Chamba, February 14

While bringing the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Chamba Welfare Association, an NGO, has expressed deep concern over the way the construction waste and other garbage was being dumped in Sarotha nullah slope. As a sequel to this, the trees on the hill slope are being damaged and area stinking.

In a statement issued here today, association president AK Bhardwaj and general secretary SK Kashmiri lamented that that the debris from the construction sites in upper area of Chamba town from Hardaspura, Surara and other areas was being dumped on the hill slopes of Sarotha nullah near local TB hospital, turning the eco-sensitive zone into a landfill site.

Bags full of muck and debris were carried in trucks from the outskirts of Chamba town stretching from Hardaspura to TB Hospital area and were being dumped in the hill slopes of Sarotha nullah near TB hospital, they revealed; pointing out that this construction waste settled down permanently on the slope and affected the ecosystem of the area.

Association office-bearers regretted that the green trees were dying. It could also affect fresh growth of plants besides generating unhygienic conditions.

The association had so many times brought the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned in black and white but no concrete steps had been initiated so far, the office-bearers stated.

They have urged the Chief Minister to direct concerned officials to take stern measures and ensure dumping of the debris at designated places thereby checking this eco-degradation of the area.