The Water and Waste Challenges in Darjeeling: A Geographical Approach

Abstract

The urban water and waste crisis has a global face and the crisis is generally conditioned by a combination of factors including unplanned urbanization, mismanagement of water resources, ill management of solid waste, deforestation, climate change, inadequate infrastructure and over-tourism in the case of Darjeeling town. The mounting garbage and acute water crisis in the Himalayan towns are accelerating at an unprecedented rate. Darjeeling is no exception; it needs sustainable waste and water management to retain its pristine geographical space. The mounting population pressure on the limited land manifests in the environment in different ways. To address these pertinent issues the present study aims to look into the situational analysis in Darjeeling municipality and seeks to put forth suggestions through the empirical lens. The study revealed that the water problem is stimulated by the decade-old pipe water lines laid during the British era, the mismanagement, and the faulty distribution system. On the other hand, the study found the low waste awareness among the surveyed households and the reckless waste habits threatening the very existence of Darjeeling as a tourist destination. The study stresses the need for a paradigm shift in the mindset of the people by taking the responsibility to manage their waste. Darjeeling receives one of the highest rainfalls in the state of West Bengal. In this context, rainwater harvesting and reviving the dying springs through the setting up of Dhara Vikas (spring shed management) committees would trigger the pioneering steps. However, no suggestion can materialize unless there is a positive policy intervention on the part of the government. Governance is the fundamental and final link that can usher transformation to any booming urban space.