Solid waste management at Gulmarg resort takes a hit

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 8

The abrogation of Article 370 that triggered unprecedented tension forcing labourers to leave the Valley has affected the tourist resort of Gulmarg.

The solid waste treatment plant at Gulmarg was badly hit and closed since August 5 as the non-local staff and the labourers engaged by the contractor to run the plant fled the tourist resort in the wake of the advisory to the tourists and non-locals to leave the Valley, which has now been withdrawn.

As garbage collection and its treatment was affected badly, the ecologically sensitive Gulmarg resort also saw a lot of pollution owing to the littering of the solid waste. At many locations in an around Gulmarg, heaps of untreated garbage could be seen littered.

Waking up from the slumber, the Gulmarg Development Authority has now signed an agreement with the Tanagmarg municipality to make the plant fully functional, which includes the treatment of the bio-degradable and non-biodegradable solid waste.

“The GDA had outsourced the operations of the plants to a contractor, but after August 5, everything in Kashmir was in for a change. As the tourists fled Gulmarg, so did the non-local staff and labrourers engaged by the contractor to run the plants,” Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Inam-ul-Haq Sidiqui said, who has recently taken over the charge of the office from his predecessor.

“We have now transferred the operation of the plants to the Tanagmarg municipality and we are looking at the modalities on how to run it properly,” Inam said, adding that he recently issued the formal order for the handover and takeover of the waste management plant. He, however, admitted that the Tanagmarg municipality had it own shortcomings to run the plant as it had no experience of running such plants. “The plant is functional right now. But we will have to support them (Tanagmarg municipally).”

Asked about the output of the solid waste management plants, the CEO said right now much waste was not generated at the Gulmarg resort as most of the hotels were either empty or non-functional due to the low footfall of the tourists.