While Baramulla district was recently in news for having it’s Deputy Commission among the recipients of the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in Public Administration, the District is unfortunately presently in news for being one among few districts in valley witnessing unprecedented rise in pollen allergies . Though there is nothing new in public outcry against the allergy caused by pollens falling from Russian female poplars but years ago Jammu & Kashmir Government had ordered mass cutting of these trees across Kashmir. Unfortunately unprecedented rise in pollen allergies in Baramulla district shows the failure of the district administration in cutting down the Russian female poplars with the greater intensity they were cut down in many districts of Kashmir Valley in compliance with the direction of the Government enforced in valley districts years ago. Ultimately pollen allergy is a hard pressed health issue which deserves immediate attention and intervention of the Government not only in Baramulla district but also in adjoining districts of Bandipora and Kupwara. Notably the pollen allergies are not noticed this year in Srinagar and Budgam districts where district administrations working under the close vigil of the top brass of the Jammu & Kashmir Government have carried out the orders of cutting down Russian female poplars with greater intensity. Since the incumbent Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Sehrish Asgar is heading the district for last more than one year and as such being the recipient of the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in Public Admininistration Shrish Asgar should not have allowed the situation of pollen allergies to persist during her more than one year stay in Baramulla as it’s Deputy Commissioner. Undoubtedly Sehrish may done many good jobs for all-round development of the Baramulla district which fetched him the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in Public Administration but the failure of the district administration to carry out the mass cutting down of the Russian female poplars under her leadership speaks volumes about the weaknesses in the working of the district administration. Though onus of failure in cutting down the Russian female poplars in the Baramulla district also lies equally on predecessors of Sehrish Asgar including the likes of Dr Bhupinder Kumar and Dr G N Itoo but a good job left undone by her predecessors could have been easily done with the spirits of public service by Sehrish Asgar in a short span of one year. Since medical experts have said that allergies caused by the pollen falling from Russian female populars are likely to aggravate the health condition of asthma patients, the situation developing by the pollen allergies demands immediate attention and intervention on cutting down of Russian female polar by district administration in Baramulla and other two adjoining districts Kupwara and Bandipora. Never forget that pollen allergies have also unprecedentedly restrained the movement of people particularly students, teachers, doctors and patients at public places like schools, colleges, hospitals and Government offices. Sehrish Asgar would surely leave the footprints of her excellence in Public Administration in District Administration Baramulla if she embarks on a plan of mass cutting of the Russain female poplars to free Baramulla district from the fast spreading pollen allergies. Till the situation developing by the pollen allergies fades, the people would do best to prevent themselves from pollen allergies if they keep windows if their houses closed when pollen counts are high, change clothes each time after coming inside from the outdoors to limit pollen exposure, take a bath or shower each night before going to bed to rid the skin and hair of pollen buildup, and wash bedding materials in hot and soapy water at least once per week.
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