It is important for the authorities to go for a trade-off between imposing strict laws and giving time to the residents of Bhaderwah Valley to mend their ways as far as the serious issue of pollution of local water bodies is concerned.
Analyzing the report published in a local daily over the issue, the narrative has been set by the authorities that the dangerous level of pollution in the rivulets of Bhaderwah is only because of the indifference of the people of the region as if the government has nothing to do in the matter.
As a matter of fact, providing facility of sewage treatment is not the duty of the people rather the authorities concerned should have worked for the facility which reportedly is still missing in the picturesque Valley of Bhaderwah popularly known as ‘Chotta Kashmir’ among the travelers who love to explore the virgin natural beauty of this part of J&K having verdant landscapes and all constituents which an ideal hill station should possess to woo tourists. There is no doubt that uncontrolled pollution of water bodies in Bhaderwah could led to catastrophic ramifications as this will not only affect the ecology of the region but tourism, which is still in the infancy stage, is also going to witness dents in case things are not rectified soon.
In this context, Section 144 has been imposed to book the violators for polluting water bodies. Although the course of action is still unclear because it is impossible for the people to stop the flow of pollutants into the aforesaid water bodies overnight but for sure the action by the administration will create conditions to stop the contamination of the water bodies. As household waste, human waste, and other non-biodegradable things are being disposed off in the local water bodies as being alleged by many social activists, the government should come up with a plan to stop this by providing sewage lines and waste treatment plants in the region and also an awareness drive on a comprehensive scale could also help in improving the situation.
All said and done, the government should come up with some kind of via-media to counter the problem as accusing the residents for the mess in the region is not advisable at all. It is good that the administration has started thinking with the right perspective but blame game in the matter is no solution rather the authorities should take people into confidence and come up with a practical solution in an amicable manner, which seems to be a more rational and right approach
