Various residential bodies along the Sahastradhara Road area have joined forces to prevent dumping of the city's garbage at the municipal trenching ground in the area.
The residents aver that the State Government and Dehradun municipal corporation are showing little interest in effectively acting in accordance with directions issued by the Supreme Court of India regarding facilitation of waste treatment and disposal system in Dehradun.
Residents living along both sides of the Sahastradhara Road under the banner of Sahastradhara Road Jankalyan Samiti (SRJS) addressed the media at the Uttaranchal Press Club eliciting focus on the protracted problematic issue of garbage being dumped at the Sahastradhara Road trenching ground years after it reached its maximum capacity. SRJS head RK Bhargav said, "According to the affidavit submitted by the Dehradun municipal corporation and others regarding a case in the supreme court during May 2014, a time period of 18 to 24 months had been sought in response to which the court had given a period of two years maximum, directing that no objection certificates be secured from the various departments concerned in two months. The two-year time limit ended on May 6, 2016 after which a letter was submitted to the district magistrate seeking observance of the supreme court directions. Earlier, a Sahastradhara area resident submitted an application in the human rights commission which had stated that it would be appropriate to refer the matter to the National Green Tribunal for appropriate directions because directions from the High Court of Uttarakhand in Nainital and the state human rights commission had failed to wake up the authorities," he said. The residents further said that about 50,000 to 60,000 people in the Sahastradhara area in proximity to the trenching ground here have been suffering from years due to the stench and health risks from the trenching ground.