Jahangeer Ganaie
Pulwama, Dec 11: The residents of Chaan Kitaar in Tral, south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, are protesting against the Rural Development Department (RDD) for proposing a dumping site near their residential area.
The residents said that they will have no option but to migrate if the proposed dumping site is established in their locality.
They said that the area already has one dumping site managed by the Municipal Committee Tral, which has made their lives difficult.
“If another dumping site is constructed here, we won’t even be able to step out of our lawns, and our children won’t be able to attend school,” they said.
Basharat Ahmad, a local resident, stated that a dumping site close to residential areas would be disastrous. “Everyone knows it will attract stray dogs and other animals, making it unsafe for people to move freely,” he said.
He added that residents with land near the proposed dumping site would be forced to abandon it, fearing attacks from dogs and wild animals.
A local woman expressed concern about the safety of children in the area. “Currently, children go to the religious seminary by themselves in the mornings, but that won’t be possible if the dumping site is constructed here,” she said.
For the past three months, locals have been urging authorities to relocate the project far from residential areas. However, they claim that their repeated requests have not been taken seriously.
The residents are now seeking the intervention of the MLA Tral and the Deputy Commissioner of Pulwama in this matter.
Meanwhile, an official from the RDD said, “If there is any other site available, let them identify and show it to us.”
The official added that the government has been working on a rural sanitation program, which is not feasible without constructing dumping sites.
“If the residents do not want the government to carry out door-to-door waste collection and disposal, let them provide a written statement to that effect,” the official said. (KNO)
