The wastage of time and money can have a profoundly negative impact on your happiness in life because time is an irreplaceable resource. Consequently, it is vital to exercise prudence and avoid time and money wastage.

The wastage of time and money can have a profoundly negative impact on your happiness in life because time is an irreplaceable resource. Consequently, it is vital to exercise prudence and avoid time and money wastage.

The people of Pahalgam, including ourselves, are grappling with various problems and difficulties, which we attempt to address, but we do not attain swift success in overcoming these challenges. The key factors contributing to these issues are the limited access to education and our inadequate knowledge of government programs and information, which facilitates the exploitation of our rights by others. Conversely, residents of other areas effectively utilize government schemes and programs, owing to their familiarity with and proximity to relevant information, and consequently secure their rights in a timely fashion. Nevertheless, in Pahalgam, we remain disconnected from government initiatives and programs, primarily due to insufficient information and awareness, leading to unclaimed benefits.
We have become accustomed to a culture of spending money to acquire everything, while institutions are responsible for providing all legitimate services. As a result, our financial and economic losses due to excessive spending hinder our social development and happiness. The Himalayan Welfare Organization-HWO has organized various workshops, seminars, and meetings in Pahalgam over the past fifteen years, aiming to empower our people with knowledge and information about their rights.
The public has demonstrated limited enthusiasm and a lukewarm attitude towards acquiring knowledge, including the right to information and right to public services guarantee, due to our habit of daily market visits and our preoccupation with our cabs, ponies , shops or engagement in our guest houses , we usually abstain from participating in such events and gaining valuable insights.
This lack of enthusiasm causes us significant pain, as our own people fail to understand their fundamental rights and justice system in a timely manner. We pray that the Almighty may grant us the ability to think critically and make informed decisions, enabling us to do justice to ourselves and future generations. Ameen.
The wastage of time and money can have a profoundly negative impact on your happiness in life because time is an irreplaceable resource. Consequently, it is vital to exercise prudence and avoid time and money wastage.

Mushtaq Pahalgami
Himalayan Welfare Organization-HWO J&K

Hotels and restaurants discharging thousands of liters of waste water daily must be required to install their own Effluent Treatment Plants -ETP.

Hotels and restaurants discharging thousands of liters of waste water daily must be required to install their own Effluent Treatment Plants -ETP.

Especially in areas of the Lidder Valley, such as Batkoot, Yanner, Serchen, Movra, Dahwatoo, Laddi, Overa, Nagipora, Wahdan, Dalseer, and Charigam, where common STPs are not available, numerous large hotels are releasing thousands of liters of untreated wastewater directly into the Lidder River daily. The PDA Pahalgam recently sealed many units in these areas after catching them polluting the local water body, but later no action was taken against these hoteliers. As per the law, strict action should have been taken against these individuals. I request the government to take strict action against such individuals who are destroying the fragile environment, particularly water resources, for their personal interests. These individuals should be forced to install their own ETP units to prevent further damage to the local environment.

1. What is Effluent Treatment?

Effluent treatment is the process of removing harmful contaminants/pollutants from wastewater generated by various industries, including hospitality, healthcare, and manufacturing, to produce clean, safe, and pure water that meets quality standards. Hotels generate effluent from various sources, including kitchen and bathroom wastewater. Approximately 70-75% of hotel waste is biodegradable, comprising organic matter, which combines with non-biodegradable waste at collection points.

2. Why is Effluent Treatment Necessary for Hotels?
As the hospitality industry generates significant amounts of wastewater/effluent, treatment using ETPs is essential to prevent environmental pollution and public health risks. The treatment process involves a combination of physical, chemical, and biological methods to remove pollutants and contaminants from effluent/wastewater. Thank you.

Mushtaq Pahalgami
Himalayan Welfare Organization-HWO J&K 

ON INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY.

ON INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY.

We the Himalayan Welfare Organisation -HWO has been working hard since 2014 to control single-use polythene in Pahalgam town and instead of this polythene bags , while the jute type bags was introduced everywhere in pahalgam region in which the sucess was achieved in the movement.
But unfortunately now some people are in a hurry to start this dirty plastic business again in this beautiful pahalgam valley by other means and style .
In which this polythene mess is again seen in the some shops and business units in entire pahalgam region  and on which the concerned departments like Municipal committee pahalgam   and Pahalgam Development Authority  organization is not taking any legal action against the culprits.
While we have repeatedly brought this matter to the notice of the MC Pahalgam , but sorry to say no substantial action has been taken on the said matter.
We hope that  MC Pahalgam and PDA Pahalgam  will take notice of this important and serious matter and will  take strict action to stop this polythene mess and the culprits will be brought to book under law .
Also there are fast food and chips mess in this pahalgam region where polythene is used in huge quantity..
We request to PDA and MC Pahalgam to take the issue with these companies, an alternative packing should be introduce instead such polythene packing particularly for this Environmentally sensitive region of pahalgam so that the the ecology and environment will not harm more  .One more option is to completely ban such kind of pollutants /things which are causing damage to the local ecology and environment.
We Himalayan Welfare Organization-HWO J&K  are ready to assist in any work involving pioneer improvement and prosperity for the region.We hope that both the departments MC Pahalgam and PDA Pahalgam  will help for the better and prosperous Pahalgam.

We should encouraging people to cut down on the use of plastic bags.Let's all make a little extra effort to help save our environment.

Most people only use a plastic bag one time, then throw it away. Single-use plastic bags have motivated some cities to ban them altogether. Places that have banned disposable plastic shopping bags include:

5 Facts About Plastic Bags

1.It takes between 100 and 500 years for plastic bags to disintegrate.
2.We make 5 trillion plastic bags each year.
3.The average person uses a plastic bag for 25 minutes.
4.Every minute around the world, we use 1million plastic bags.
5.Plastic bags kill around 100,000 marine animals each year.

7 WAYS TO HAVE A #PlasticBagFreeDay Environmental organizations and concerned citizens hold events around the world. The events raise awareness of the negative impact that single-use plastics have on the environment.

1.Commit to cutting down on the use of plastic bags.
2.Save your plastic bags and take them to a recycling center.
3.Use reusable bags for shopping.
4.Educate others on the adverse effects plastic bags have on the environment.
5.Learn about how plastic bags can harm animals.
6.Encourage your community to reduce its reliance on plastic bags.
7.Watch a documentary on single-use plastics, such as A Plastic Ocean or Bag It.

While you're learning more about reducing plastic bag use, spread awareness for this day, too. Join the conversation on social media with #PlasticBagFreeDay or #BreakFreeFromPlastic.

Mushtaq Pahalgami
Himalayan Welfare Organization-HWO J&K