Turning garbage into gold: J-K village sarpanch shows the way
Anantnag (JK), Feb 16: One man's trash is another man's treasure -- not just a fanciful idea but a maxim to save the environment for village headman Farooq Ahmad Ganaie who gives out gold coins in exchange for polythene to prevent household plastic waste being dumped into fields and water bodies.
"If we do not pay attention to cleanliness, you won't find any clean source of water of fertile land within the next 10 years," Ganaie, sarpanch of Sadiwara-A village in Hiller area here, told PTI.
"While there is a lot of focus on cleanliness from the government and the administration, the citizens will also have to contribute their bit," he said.
Ganaie, who is also an advocate, started out last year by convincing the villagers to build garbage pits in their houses to ensure that solid waste does not get out.
"However, polythene remained a cause of concern as it does not decompose even in garbage pits. That's when I thought of the idea -- bring polythene, take gold.
"We now give a gold coin to those who bring us 20 quintals of polythene," he said.
"Those who bring less than 20 quintals of polythene will also be suitably rewarded, maybe a silver coin," he added.
The youth of the area have formed a club which helps in implementing innovative ideas for the betterment of society.
"Our area has been completely transformed in the past one year. Earlier, there was polythene strewn on the roads but that's not the case now," said Mohsin Amin, a volunteer of the Youth Club.
Ganaie's novel idea may soon be replicated across villages in Anantnag.
"This model will be incentivised and implemented in all panchayats of the district so that our villages are garbage-free and polythene-free," said Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD), Anantnag, Riyaz Ahmad Shah.
He said though the idea was conceived by the Sadiwara-A panchayat, the district administration has extended all support.
Shah said the administration is working on solid waste management in the district.
"We have started door-to-door waste collection and provided community dustbins and household dustbins. The construction of drains, compost pits and soakage pits is being undertaken. We have constructed over 60,000 compost pits in the district," he said.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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