Scrap unit gutted in Qazigund, owner seeks govt assistance

Vessu (Qazigund), Nov 23: Manzoor Ahmad Dar (50) established a scrap yard unit in Vessu in 2019, dedicated to collecting scraps from villages for environmental preservation and recycling. Dar tirelessly gathered tons of scraps, intending to transport them for recycling. However, all hopes were tragically reduced to ashes in a massive fire incident.
Dar, who employed over a dozen unemployed youths in his unit, found immense joy in his endeavour. He commuted daily from his home in Turka Tachloo, situated approximately 12 kilometres away.
Junaid Manzoor, Dar’s son, told Rising Kashmir that his father’s venture sustained their livelihood, providing for their basic needs and supporting his children’s education.
“My father was an eco-warrior, passionately collecting scraps to protect the environment. He put in all his effort to establish a processing unit for plastic scraps, which was running smoothly. Unfortunately, all the tons of scraps were reduced to ashes in a fire incident, shattering our hopes,” he said.
“We’ve lost everything we had collected in the unit. Nothing remains except ashes. This unit used to send around 80 tonnes of scraps for recycling every month,” he added.
“When we initially started in partnership with our uncle, Bashir Ah Dar, we invested Rs 10 lakh to acquire two essential machines—a grinder capable of reducing various coloured plastics into small pieces and a compressor for squashing plastic bottles. This is a significant setback for a businessman who had just begun contributing to society,” he said.
The owner and his family are demanding government assistance in the form of compensation to restart his venture. They aim to continue collecting heaps of scraps for recycling, thus contributing to environmental protection.
Fire and emergency officials said that the massive fire caused substantial damage to the scrap unit. With the combined efforts of locals, police, and their team, they managed to bring the fire under control.
“According to our initial assessment, the fire involved scraps and machinery worth around 1 crore, with approximately 25 lakhs worth of scraps and other equipment damaged in the incident,” he said.