Irrigation canal turns dumping site in south Kashmir

PULWAMA — An irrigation canal passing through Darbagh in Shopian district and Zahid Bagh in Pulwama district of south Kashmir has been turned into a dumping site while the authorities are unmoved.

Locals said that in the 2014 floods, the canal which used to irrigate agricultural fields got blocked and since then the canal has been left unattended.

They said that in May this year, a pipeline was laid through the canal to divert its water to river Ranbiara, however, pipes are so narrow that just a few drops of water pass through these pipes.

“The stagnant water is creating a lot of problems for locals and there is no intervention from concerned authorities,” Nazir Ahmad, a local resident said.

He added that heaps of polythene, plastic bags, and other medical waste are being dumped inside the canal and in this regard, they informed the concerned authorities several times but they failed to do anything substantial.

The locals said that heaps of garbage and stagnant water pose a grave threat of communicable disease amid the COVID-19 pandemic while the authorities are unmoved.

A resident said that people residing along the canal have been dumping waste material in the canal and it has been turned into a dumping site.

Assistant Executive Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control sub-division Zainapora said that the pipeline was laid only for emergency purposes. He said that a mega-project will be sanctioned in the coming days which will again connect the canal with other parts to irrigate the fields and it will be cleaned as well.

Meanwhile, he appealed the people not to throw waste material in the canal as it will have hazardous results.