Sacred Devika river

Yuri Rajput  

Udhampur town, a beautiful town situated on the banks of sacred river Devika, is about 65 km from Jammu. Udhampur town is also known for its clean environment and pleasant weather. At present, Udhampur town is facing a serious environment threat due to use of unchecked and free flow of polythene plastic bags in market. Almost every-where we go, we see people carrying shopping items in plastic bags whether it is shop of ready-made garments or it is karyana store or it is vegetable shop every-body is using it. Due to it lot of plastic bags dumped in sacred Devika existence is in danger. Where ever we go in Udhampur town and its vicinity, every-where we find used polythene scattered in garbage heaps, lanes, choked drains. Polythene is not a biodegradable item and if dumped in the soil causes havoc to plant life as the toxic substance of polythene get blocked among the soil particles. It also threatens the life in waterbodies. The chemicals in it affects the sur vival of flora and fauna. It also clog the drains causing problems in the water flow of the pipes. In most of the households polythene bags are used to preserve food items and it has been found out , the colourful polythene bags contain lead and cadmium which are tox ic and cause adverse effects to human health. If it is burnt in open air hydrogen cynide is released having carcinogenic effects besides air pollution. A single plastic bag can take upto 1000 years to decay completely in other words,the more plastic bags we use the greater the chances of environmental damages. Plastic bags not only have adverse effects on natural habitats but also have been found to be responsible for the death of many animals mainly on account of the suffocation encountered on eating them. At present, it is necessity to create awareness among masses on the ill effects of using plas tic and polythene bags and take to bags made of biodegradable material that is jute, cloths and recycled paper. It is also duty of lit erate persons of society to discourage people from using plastic and polythene bags. It is my appeal to distt administration Udhampur to awake from deep slumber and ban polythene bag completely in mar ket and form teams to conduct surprise checks at the shops at fre quent intervals and initiate strict action against the shopkeepers and vendors using plastic bags. I also appeal to Chief Minister of J&K State, Omar Abdullah to act and have complete ban on polythene bags in state just like our neighbouring state Himachal Pardesh has done and had remained successful in its.

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Courtesy: The Daily Excelsior: 23rd January, 2014