Parigam residents resist waste disposal facility in their village

PULWAMA — The residents of Parigam village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district are up against district administration for choosing State land in the village for construction of a waste disposal facility.

The locals said that the land which has been identified is very close to a residential area and solid waste management plant can severely take a toll on locals along with their farmland.

“Yes, it is State land but government should start such a project here that won’t harm locals along with their agriculture and horticulture sector,” they said.

Sajad Ahmad, a local resident said that apple, almond orchards, saffron and other agricultural fields are in its close vicinity and a waste disposal plant would impact the produce to a great extent. He said that the government should come up with such a plant or industry that would generate employment opportunities for local youth.

Locals said that they have taken up the issue with Lieutenant Governor and district administration and are hopeful that they will revisit their decision and a solid waste disposal plant will be shifted to the alternative site far from the residential area.

A senior official of the Revenue Department said that in order to mitigate all issues related to the solid waste management plant, there is no alternative site available other than Parigam. “There is no site available in Pulwama town and its peripheral area. After proper survey, this site is best,” the official said.

An official of the Municipal Committee Pulwama said that they have already measured the land in Parigam which is around 33 Kanals and around Rs. 80 lakh have been already sanctioned for the fencing of the site.

He assured that it won’t be a garbage dumping site but a modern solid waste management plant and there will be no impact on the locals and their produce due to the plant.

District Magistrate Pulwama, Baseer-ul-Haq Choudhary, said that the site would have been chosen after proper survey.

Choudhary said that a local delegation had recently visited him and he assured that all parameters will be once again taken into consideration before taking any decision in this regard.