Waste woes: Shimla forests littered with plastic trash

Forests littered with non-degradable waste like plastic wrappers, bottles, etc, is a common sight at several places in and around Shimla.

“It’s difficult to collect the garbage lying on the hill slopes. Still, we clean up as much as possible. The problem is that people do not stop throwing waste on the slopes and the situation turns back to square one a few days after we clean up the areas,” said a sanitation official of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

The problem is rampant in panchayat areas adjoining the Shimla municipal limit as the garbage collection system there is not as robust as in the municipal areas.

Littering is more common on the hill slopes close to National Highways or link roads. A few large patches in jungle along the road towards super-speciality hospital at Chamyana from Bhattakuffar have been covered with trash.

“The problem was quite serious about a year back and is improving now. We have engaged a garbage vehicle to transport trash to the waste management plant in Shimla,” said Rita Chauhan, pradhan of Chamyana gram panchayat. The service, however, is available only twice a week.

Meanwhile, the sanitation workers point out that people from the adjoining panchayat areas dump garbage in the municipal areas at some spots, knowing that the sanitation staff would clean-up the areas within the MC limits immediately. “They throw garbage bags from their moving vehicles at some points falling within the MC limits. Besides, some vacant plots have been turned into garbage dumping points,” the sanitation workers said.

Tourists, too, are responsible for littering the hill slopes. They often park their vehicles on the roadside to have snacks while enjoying the natural beauty. “Once they are done, they throw the packets, bottles into the valley,” said a sanitation official.

Incidentally, the state government has made it mandatory for all commercial passenger vehicles to install garbage bins inside the vehicles to prevent littering.

According to sanitation officials, awareness campaigns are held on a regular basis to sensitise aware about proper disposal of garbage. “We do try to create awareness, but many people do not heed and continue to litter,” said the official.

A forest official said over a period of time, non-degradable materials like plastic cause a lot of damage to the ecology. “It causes several problems once such material gets collected at one point in large quantity. It doesn’t allow the growth of new vegetation. In the absence of vegetation, there’s nothing to keep soil intact and the area becomes vulnerable to erosion,” he said. “It is highly detrimental to environment. There has to be a proper waste disposal system,” he added.

Himachal Tribune