Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, Jammu and Kashmir is dotted with numerous resorts with streams snaking through breathtaking meadows. But behind the beauty there is an uglier side! What takes sheen off the visual treat of nature is unscientific garbage disposal!A perfect case of environmental vandalisation is unscientific garbage disposal in Pahalgam, a tourist resort in south Kashmir. Authorities are daily dumping tons of waste generated in the resort in a landfill site at Sarbal along the banks of Nallah Tulyan, a fresh water stream which flows into Lidder river. The landfill site has been rendered defunct amid manpower shortage and lack of proper machines.

Environmentalists state that the landfill site situated on forest land cannot operate in an ecologically sensitive zone. The Solid Waste Treatment Plant (SWTP) was commissioned in 2018 with the objective to undertake mechanical segregation, auto-composting, and electromagnetic disintegration for scientific waste disposal. The plant was designed to cater around 4 tons of waste, however, with heavy tourist influx it exceeds over 25 metric tons daily. This had rendered the plant nearly defunct. During rains, the accumulated garbage gets washed away in Tulyan stream. Besides the leachate from garbage flows into the stream causing extensive damage to aquatic life.

The landfill site littered with garbage including poultry waste and leftover food attracts stray dogs and even wild animals. This severely disturbs the food chain of wild animals that leave their habitat and lose natural instinct to hunt for food. This also poses........

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