Lack of proper waste disposal poses threat to environment in Gurez

Bandipora, July 14: The garbage crisis in north Kashmir's Gurez Valley is becoming an imminent threat to its fragile environment, amidst a significant increase in tourist numbers.

With no scientific waste disposal management in place, locals claim the environmentally fragile Valley will be gasping within two years, impacting its status as an award-winning offbeat destination from tourist itineraries point of view.

"The present situation is explosive, and if garbage continues to accumulate, no tourists will be arriving here within two years," Abdul Raheem Lone, a former local representative, told Greater Kashmir.

"The situation needs to be highlighted as it poses an imminent threat to the environment and tourism alike," he added.

Notably, the centrally located Tehsil of Dawar in Gurez, which has been attracting the most tourists, locals as well as visitors from other states for over two years now, has been littered with massive amounts of garbage around camping sites.

The eight villages within the Tehsil—Dawar, Badwan, Wampora, Khandyal, Mastan, Markoot, Khopri, Achoora, and Shahpora—are popular tourist destinations apart from the villages in the far-off Tehsil of Tulail.

Locals say a single vehicle arranged by the Block Development Office (BDO) collects garbage from a select few hotels, which have recently mushroomed in the area, and from shops on a minimum monthly pay basis. However, the rest of the littered garbage remains unattended.

Locals complain that the waste is then transported to the nearby village of Badwan, near the Kishanganga dam site, where it is dumped in a dried-up rivulet.

"Domestic waste, however, is directly thrown into the Kishanganga river," Raheem said, adding that Dawar alone has around 3,000 households.

Even though the local administration has designated camping sites for people to stay in, they have also allowed tourists or visitors to pitch personal tents. However, this practice is now emerging as a headache for both locals and the administration and is proving detrimental to the environment, locals said.

"It stinks so bad now," Raheem added. He shared that the most affected places in centrally located Tehsil of Gurez are Khopri, Badwan, Dawar, Markoot, and Achoora, where a famous spring emerges from the foothills of a pyramid-shaped hill known as Habakhatoon, complementing Gurez's breathtaking landscape.

Noting the detrimental effect, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, in an order issued on Saturday, banned the pitching of personal tents.

"It's a mere eyewash," Raheem contested the administration's efforts. He added, "The situation is far from alarming," and urged the government to come up with scientific waste disposal techniques, besides implementing strict rules against littering.

He also urged the Rural Department to be provided with manpower to efficiently tackle the garbage crisis from all over the Valley.

Aijaz Ahamd, another local, lamented the "vagabond" nature of visitors.

He said, "The lack of management to deal with tourists is allowing the birth of a crisis-like situation in the sensitive Valley," and urged it to be addressed on a war footing basis.

"There are no rules on how tourists should explore the Valley, hundreds of vehicles halt at random places, littering and throwing every kind of waste," he added

"The situation is not so simple," a scholar who has intimately studied Gurez's culture and society told Greater Kashmir on conditions of anonymity. He said the Valley, known for its wooden log houses, is also "fast turning into a concrete jungle," referring to the massive construction of hotels using concrete.

"This needs to stop, as this practice poses a threat to the fragile Valley on many fronts."

Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Gurez, Mukhtar Ahmad, acknowledged that Gurez was facing a littering crisis amid a shortage of sanitation staff and waste collection vehicles at the rural block level.

He said the private campers had "wreaked havoc" in places wherever they pitched tents, which had proven to be a "headache" for the department concerned.

In contrast, he said, the thirty beneficiaries approved by the administration to rent tent accommodations "were properly following guidelines and disposing off waste."

He said the local administration had to use personal funds to remove the littered garbage, which had also angered locals, leading to the ban on tents.

Ibrahim Owais, Secretary of the Panchayat at the BDO office, shared with Greater Kashmir that the department was facing an acute shortage of staff.

"We just have one van for garbage collection, and the higher-ups have asked us to manage as there are no fuel allowances, wages for the driver, and wear-and-tear allowances."

He mentioned that for now, they have been charging hoteliers on a monthly basis, "But it is not generating enough revenue."

When asked about measures taken for scientific waste disposal, Owais said, "As of now, we have waste segregation sheds and composite waste sites at some places, but no shredders."

Owais further stated that the department was facing "an acute shortage of manpower," which complicates handling programmes like SBM and routine works.

He added, "A request for a waste segregation plant has been sent to the higher-ups this year. They have asked us to identify the site, and the process is ongoing."

Locals said that since May, the daily arrival of tourists this year stood at an average of 1,200 to 1,500 people or more, however official confirmation on the numbers is awaited.