Following repeated pleas of locals and civil society members, JMC has done nothing in this regard after concerned authorities had broken slab of these gratings and opened it up for unclogging months ago
Months on, the process of restoration of gratings has not been yet started which has become dangerous for pedestrians. Besides, pungent smell is emanating from the drain which causes inconvenience to the pedestrians
Worst-affected are shopkeepers located close to drain as due to bad smell emanating from drain, their business had been affected as customers prefer to take alternate routes to avoid the unpleasant stench
During the monsoon, they have to wade through a mix of untreated sewage and solid waste. Water-borne diseases are also common as Jammu city does not have a planned and a full-fledged sewerage system
GY CORRESPONDENT
jammu, Nov 7
Law abiding citizens of Channi Himmat has drawn attention of Jammu Municipal Corporation towards Nallah having big steel gratings in Sector-3,Ward-51 in front of Railway track falling in jurisdiction of Zone-III of JMC being headed by Chief Transport Officer JMC which were broken when the Nallahas during flood in the month of Aug-Sep 2023 got blocked and gratings were removed for flow of Nallah but the same haven’t been restored which have become a source of nuisance for the residents of the area. As they flow uncovered, their stench wafts through the entire colony causing great discomfort to the residents. Besides, many cattle have fallen into it, and got injured. These gratings in Channi Himmat area were repaired a number of times in the past by JMC, but repair work did not last, as the work executed was not proper and material used was sub standard. The residents have requested that these gratings be repaired and covered under Smart City Project currently underway in the city. The uncovered gratings has now become a nuisance for the locals as during the past few months several persons including some women fell into the drain, causing injury to them. These drains have been a big failure due to its design and non-utility. Following repeated pleas of the locals and the civil society members, JMC has done nothing in this regard. It deserves mentioning here that concerned authorities had broken the slab of these drains and opened it up for unclogging. However, six months on, the process of restoration of the drain has not been yet started. Resultantly, the drain has become dangerous for pedestrians.“Several persons fell into the open drain and were injured. Besides, pungent smell is emanating from the drain which causes inconvenience to the pedestrians. The worst-affected are the shopkeepers located close to the drain. Urging the authorities to take immediate steps for restoring the drain, they said that due to the bad smell emanating from the drain, their business had been affected as customers prefer to take alternate routes to avoid the unpleasant stench. If authorities are interested in restoring it, they must start the work. Otherwise, the open drain can cause a serious mishap. The central government’s Swachh Bharat Mission has concentrated on building toilets but the mere construction of toilets is meaningless, unless these are connected with proper sewerage .During the monsoon, we have to wade through a mix of untreated sewage and solid waste. Water-borne diseases are also common. Jammu city does not have a planned and a full-fledged sewerage system. Similar complaints are pouring in from other areas as well. Sewerage works have been sublet to contractors but there is no accountability. In some areas, household connections have been provided, but the main trunk sewer line is missing. Current piped sewerage systems do not treat sewage but merely move it elsewhere, —often, into the closest open water body. There are 35 nullahs in Jammu city, of which about 15-16 directly dump untreated sewage into the Tawi river. The rest throw sewage in other water bodies and low-lying areas. All these nullahs must be tapped and untreated sewage diverted away from the river to the STPs.
