Srinagar, Dec 06: The Solid Waste Management initiative undertaken by the Urban Local Bodies in Kashmir has achieved a significant milestone, with 261 out of 529 wards in the 40 municipal committees across the valley declared garbage-free.
Director ULB Kashmir, Mathoora Masoom, informed Rising Kashmir that citizen sanitation committees, totalling 261, have been formed in these cleared wards, with elected local residents as main members.
To enhance the cleanliness of these wards, proper signboards have been installed, and the citizen sanitation committees are set to provide the necessary support to municipal committee authorities, preventing the improper disposal of garbage in these areas, she said, adding that the initiative aims to promote community involvement and responsibility in waste management.
Currently, the 40 municipal committees in Kashmir are equipped with 221 vehicles, with 151 new vehicles having twin separate bins for the collection of dry and wet waste. These vehicles operate daily to collect waste from all the wards within the municipalities. Additionally, 480 tricycles and 150 loaders and tractors contribute to the waste collection efforts.
Mathoora said that by the end of December 2024, the initiative targets the successful clearance of legacy waste at dumping sites across all municipalities. “The bio-mining process has already cleared old dumping sites in the Municipal Committee Pahalgam and Municipal Committee Tangmarg. Currently, bio-processing is underway at the old dumping sites of the Municipal Committee Tral,” she said.
Through the bio-mining process, these old dumping sites will be fully cleaned, which will enable the utilization of the land for other purposes such as parks and gardens, she said.
The Ganderbal municipality has successfully transformed a dumping site into a children's park, providing recreational space for the community.
Director ULB further said that during the year 2023, nine waste treatment units will also be functional for 10 municipal committees. These units employ scientific waste processing methods using various machines installed in the solid waste management centres, she said, adding that efforts are underway to establish 14 additional solid waste management units for the remaining 14 municipal committees.