Kupwara, Dec 29: Traders and residents in Kupwara town have voiced strong resentment against the municipal authorities over the dumping of garbage in the heart of the town’s main market, alleging that the practice is causing inconvenience, health concerns and business losses.
Shopkeepers said waste is being routinely dumped at multiple locations in the busy commercial hub, leaving heaps of garbage along shopfronts and pedestrian areas. They alleged that the problem has persisted despite repeated appeals to the authorities.
President of the Traders Federation Kupwara, Mohammad Ishaq, told Greater Kashmir that sanitation workers of the Municipal Council Kupwara dump garbage in the market daily. “Every day heaps of waste are dumped at different locations in the main market, causing immense hardship to shopkeepers and the general public,” he said. “It is unfortunate that despite repeated reminders, the practice continues unabated.”
Ishaq claimed that Kupwara may be among the few districts where municipal authorities are using the main commercial centre as a dumping area. He said the practice not only affects business activity but also exposes shopkeepers, customers and residents to serious health and sanitation risks.
Traders have sought the immediate intervention of the Deputy Commissioner of Kupwara, Shrikant Balasaheb, demanding that municipal officials stop dumping garbage in the main market and ensure that waste is transported directly to designated disposal sites.
Responding to the allegations, the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council Kupwara said that a few locations in the market are being used as temporary transit points, from where garbage is later lifted and taken to the designated dumping site. He said these arrangements are interim in nature and will remain in place until a permanent solution is put in place.
However, traders maintained that the temporary dumping has effectively turned the main market into a garbage zone, calling for an urgent and lasting resolution to the problem.