Achan Finally Moves After Decades of Dumping |
The most important development in Srinagar this month did not come from a tourist boulevard, a political rally, or a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It came from a garbage mountain at Achan.
The Omar Abdullah government has now approved an Rs 361-crore Integrated Solid Waste Management project at Achan, with a promise that scientific waste processing will reach full capacity by March 2027.
That decision came after relentless pressure from the National Green Tribunal, public outrage in downtown Srinagar, and years of environmental neglect that turned an entire neighbourhood into a gas chamber.
I see this decision as a turning point. I also see it as a test of political sincerity.
Achan landfill site has haunted Srinagar for almost four decades. Authorities set it up in the late 1980s on nearly 984 kanals of wetland and agricultural land at Saidapora. Families cultivated paddy there for generations. Green fields once surrounded the area. Black leachate now runs through that soil.
The crisis intensified sharply during the last five to six years. Residents of Downtown Srinagar, especially people living around Shehar-e-Khaas, started living with unbearable foul smell day and night.
Windows stayed shut during summer, children developed respiratory problems, and elderly people struggled through sleepless nights. Public frustration kept growing while official machinery moved in circles.
I approached the National Green Tribunal more than two years ago because local institutions had exhausted public patience. That intervention changed the course of this issue.
The NGT treated Achan as a serious environmental disaster instead of a routine municipal lapse. Landmark hearings followed. A joint committee visited the landfill on July........