Waste segregation not in practice in Srinagar

Srinagar, Jan 24: Srinagar Municipal Corporation has failed to do waste segregation in Srinagar, affecting an important component of the ‘Smart City Project’.
As per the municipality officials, segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste has started in just six of the 35 administrative wards including in Brein, Nishat, Lal Chowk, Dalgate, Karan Nagar, Bemina, Jawahar Nagar, and Hyderpora.
They claimed to have “undertaken door-to-door garbage collection and segregation from residences through volunteers.”
However, residents of these localities contradict their claims.
“We never received any volunteer or any instruction from the municipality. We have not received separate dustbins for dry and wet waste,” said Sadia Mir, a resident of Jawahar Nagar here.
Locals at Bemina said heaps of garbage continues to pile up near the trash cans provided by the municipality without any segregation.
“The SMC vehicle collects the waste as it is without separating it,” a local said.
Taking a dig at the authorities, residents at Hyderpora said that sometimes their waste-filled dustbins remain untouched despite their frequent requests.
“Waste segregation is a far-fetched thing,” rued Arif Wani, resident.
“If the SMC officials take concrete steps to ensure waste- segregation, why would we not cooperate? Who doesn’t want their locality clean? It is they who made this project a big joke?” he asked.
Under Solid Waste Management Rules 2000, segregation of waste is mandatory as it can be used to channelize the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse, and recycle.
Chief Sanitation Officer, Sofi Akbar, and Solid Waste Management Officer, Nazir Baba, of the municipality were not available for comments.