The Hindu : Front Page : Glacial river faces pollution threat

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Friday, Aug 31, 2007
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Glacial river faces pollution threat

Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR: The Sindh, Kashmir’s only glacial river and a major source of freshwater in the State, is facing an environmental threat on account of some 30 toilets built on its banks by the Army and a kennel farm set up by the kin of a Minister, allegedly without administrative approval.

M. Saleem Beg, convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH), said these could have a severe impact on the river, which originates from the glaciers in the Himalayan ranges in the Sonamarg belt.

In a letter to General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, he said the Army had built the toilets at Neel Grath, the nearest village where the glacial waters form the stream. There were other structures of the Army on the banks in the Sonamarg area “whose function and use could not be known as these could not be accessed.”

Mr. Beg said the world over glacial waters are treated as a pristine and precious gift of nature. “Glacial waters are not just the property of the State. These belong to the world community.” He said that the Supreme Court and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had forbidden human activity within 100 metres of the waterbodies.

In a letter to the State Chief Secretary, Mr. Beg complained about the kennel breeding farm downstream of Sonamarg. He said waste from the farm directly flowed into the river. He demanded relocation of the farm at a distance of at least 100 m from the banks, with sewage treatment facilities. The State Pollution Control Board had served notice on the owner but there was no response, he said.

Sonamarg Development Authority chief executive officer Javed Bakhshi said he had issued notice to the Army on the issue. “The land belongs to the Revenue Department but the Army has not taken proper permission,” he said.

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