Waste management a grave problem in Dharamsala

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 2

With floating population increasing manifold in Dharamsala during the tourist season, the problem of solid waste management in the city has increased. Overflowing dustbins and stinking solid waste along the roads is common site in the Upper Dharamsala region.

The authorities blame the non clearance of dustbins to traffic jams. Generally, traffic remains stranded in upper Dharamsala areas at Bhagsunag, Dharamkot and Bhagsunag, making it difficult for the garbage collecting vehicles to enter these areas that delay waste collection.

The solid waste management at the trekking sites is also evoking concern among environmentalists. During this season, a large number of trekkers scale the summits in the area. Triund is the most famous summit where thousands of tourists trek every year. The solid waste comprising plastic bottles and wrappers of packed food has started piling up in the area. Only a few volunteers collect and bring down the waste from the trekking site.

Commissioner Dharamsala Municipal Corporation Sandeep Kadam, when contacted, admitted that there was problem of solid waste management in the city. He, however, said that many steps were being taken to redress it. “We have started a campaign for door-to-door collection of garbage in many areas of Dharamsala. About six pits have been developed in various parts of Dharamsala where the biodegradable waste would be converted into bio fertilizer. A team of experts was visiting the solid waste management site in Dharamsala these days and it would suggest ways to manage it better”, he said.

Though some steps are being taken to tackle the problem of solid waste the tourist areas outside the corporation limits have no solution to the problem. Naddi near McLeodganj was a famous tourist area. However, it has been excluded from the municipal corporation area. Now there was nobody to collect the solid waste being generated in the area. “Since there was nobody to collect solid waste generated in the area, we have no option but to burn it. Many tourists this year had complained of burning of solid waste but we have no option”, Sunil, a hotelier, said.

Like Naddi, Bir Billing and Andretta are the famous tourist places in Kangra district but these places have no dumping place where the solid waste generated can be treated scientifically.

Besides, the people carrying out constructions in almost entire Kangra district are scarring the hills with muck of dismantled building. Many new constructions are coming up in tourist places like McLeodganj, Bhagsunag, Naddi and Bir Billing.

A survey in these areas revealed that those carrying out constructions are filling the muck generated in cement bags. The bags are carried in trucks and dumped along the hill sides. The experts are of the view that construction waste has a tendency to settle down permanently. If it settles down permanently, the fresh undergrowth in the forest area cannot survive. It would also scar the natural beauty of the area and damage the ecology of the area.

The muck thus generated can be used by the government departments as PWD during the construction of roads or filler in basements of buildings.

Interestingly, inquiries from various departments have revealed that despite the fact that muck was being deposited along the hills in large quantities, no one has been filed or booked by the competent authorities for the offence.

The authorities concerned when asked said that they have not received any complaint in the matter. It is also surprising that the authorities are waiting for complaints from private persons to act in the matter.