Biomedical Waste Management and Law- A Study of the Government Hospitals of District Srinagar in the Union Territory of Jammu And Kashmir, India

Abstract

Healthcare is undoubtedly an inevitable facet of human existence. The very functioning of a healthcare establishment generates waste which in turn needs to be effectively managed. Bio-Medical Waste is defined as any waste produced during the diagnosis, testing, treatment, research or production of biological materials by either animals or humankind. The present study was done to access whether Government hospitals in the district Srinagar of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir are functioning in gross violation of the existing Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, thereby posing dangers to in-patients, visitors and the public at large and whether The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules suffer from certain basic shortcomings due to which they have become ineffective in protecting the environment generally and the health of the people in particular. The study revealed a gross violation of Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules. A judicious balance between environment protection and Bio-Medical Waste Management is the need of the hour.