Srinagar, April 19 -- In a recent Assembly session, the legislator from Bijbehara, Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri, questioned the government on untreated sewage entering Jhelum from the towns of Anantnag, Mattan, and Bijbehara. The Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) admitted that wastewater from these towns is drained into nearby streams, which eventually flow into the Jhelum. However, it misleadingly claimed that sewage is treated through existing networks, when in reality, no operational sewage treatment plant (STP) exists in Anantnag district.

This is not just a bureaucratic failure, it is a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Section 25 of the Act prohibits the discharge of untreated waste int...