Lolab stream turns into garbage dump

Kupwara, Jan 5 : Lolab stream, considered to be lifeline of Lolab and Kupwara area, is marred by extensive pollution and has become a garbage dumping site.

 From a distance Lolab stream flowing through the foothills of snow capped mountains and thick forests of famed Deodar and Kail presents a scintillating look but when one approaches it he is greeted by the foul smell emanating from the heaps of garbage and filth scattered all over its  banks.

 Banks of this stream have been virtually turned into a dumping ground by locals and traders. Large heaps of garbage from different localities of Kupwara town are dumped on the banks of Lolab stream shrinking its space and making its water the source of infections and diseases.

 “Earlier people would sit for hours on the banks of this Nallah, which originates from Luv Naag in Lalpora (Lolab)  and flows through the town. It used to add to the beauty of the area in a great way. Now the stream has become filthy,” said Ghulam Muhammad an elderly man.

 While pointing towards the litter lying scattered on its banks he said, “Carcasses of animals, cow dung and waste from hotels of town and disposals of health centers are dumped into the Nallah making it filthier.”

 “Even if some animal dies it is brought here and dumped into the river in broad day light. The river has virtually
 turned into a garbage-dumping site mostly right from higher secondary school Kupwara to the Moughalpora Bridge,” he added.

The Irrigation and Flood Control department entrusted with conservation of this stream has been vested with executive powers to act against people polluting it. Ironically, the department has been acting as a mute spectator to this pollution.

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SA/EN