Kishtwar: District administration Kishtwar Sunday decided to reinforce restriction on entry of non-essential vehicles, cattle and camping of nomads inside the historical Chowgan Ground. It has also decided to take up conservation of the vital Sarkoot Pond located on the outskirts of Kishtwar Town.
The decisions were taken here at a meeting chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kishori Lal Sharma and attended by chairman BDC Kishtwar, Suresh Sharma, Chief Executive Officer Kishtwar Development Authority, Inderjeet Parihar; Assistant Commissioner Panchayats, Zakir Hussain; Tehsildar Kishtwar, Pramode Kumar; DySP Headquarters, Davinder Singh; Sarpanch Panchayat Matta, and Rep of Municipal Committee Kishtwar.
The meeting discussed the deteriorating condition of Parade Ground (Chowgan Ground) and Sarkoot pond. The ADC viewed the present condition of these historical places seriously.
He directed Tehsildar and Dy SP to reinforce the section 144 already imposed by District Magistrate to restrict the entry of non-essential vehicles, persons and animals into the parade ground.
The CEO KDA and EO MC Kishtwar were directed to deploy sufficient manpower to man the entry points of the Ground to restrict the entry of nomads with their herds for camping, as this is causing immense damage to its beauty.
Tehsildar Kishtwar was directed to identify the encroachments on the historical Sarkoot Pond, issue notices to perpetrators and remove the same after 15 days.
It was also pointed out that the drains of toilets and waste water of some encroachers and nearby inhabitants flow directly into the water body which has badly polluted it. It was brought to their notice that NGT is directly monitoring maintenance (encroachment, pollution etc.) of such water bodies.
The CEO KDA and Tehsildar were directed to be serious on this issue and ensure that all the encroachments are removed and disposal of waste and other pollutants are stopped.
The Chairman BDC shared his concerns about both the issues and ensured cooperation of PRIs and General public in this endeavour.
Assistant commissioner Panchayats was directed to take immediate steps to educate public living in the vicinity about this issue and devise a model for the collection and disposal of solid waste from three Panchayats viz Matta A, Matta B, and Lachkhazana in the first phase.
