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Villagers demand shifting of waste dumping site
Villagers blocked both Dharamshala-Chandigarh and Dharamshala-Manali Highway for over an hour in protest
The residents of Sudher Panchayat blocked both Dharamshala-Chandigarh and Dharamshala Highway on Monday demanding the administration to shift the waste dumping site of the Dharamshala municipal corporation.
The villagers, mostly women, under the banner of Bageshwari Mahila Mandal, staged a sit-in at the Kotwali Bazar locality blocking both Dharamshala-Chandigarh and Dharamshala-Manali Highway for over an hour and raised slogans against the administration.
The protestors alleged that the dumping site poses harm to around 1,500 pepople of Sudher village which falls in the Shahpur assembly segment.
Muck seepage due to rains has polluted the natural water bodies of the village and is rendering the agricultural land barren, alleged Bageshwari Mahila Mandal president Sunita Devi.
“During summers, fire breaks out at the dumping site and toxic fumes make our lives hell,” she said adding that most of the people had contracted skin diseases and breathing issues.
She said if the administration fails to meet their demand, the villagers will intensify the stir.
We have been for long urging the district administration and Dharamshala MC to shift the dumping site to some other place.
“If our issue is not resolved we won’t allow garbage trucks to enter the site and dump waste,” she said.
Meanwhile, the villagers discontinued the protest after sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Harish Gajju assured them that the problem would be resolved at the earliest.
The SDM also formed a 15-member committee to mediate between the villagers and local administration.
Speaking to media persons, Gajju said that the issue raised by the villagers was genuine as the dumping site was affecting the environment in the village.
He said the MC was working on a plan for proper segregation of waste and its scientific disposal.
“Besides, the civic body has also moved a proposal to shift the dumping site but an alternate suitable site is yet to be found,” he said.
He urged the villagers to raise their issue through proper channels and not block the traffic in future as it causes problems to locals and tourists.
