From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: Iawmusiang, the main and biggest market in Jaintia Hills district located in the district head-quarter Jowai, is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Be it bad road condition, poor footpath or the absence of them or lack of cleanliness, Iawmusiang has begun to turn an eyesore to the people of the district.
On Sunday, this Scribe paid a visit to the market place only to witness huge quantity of illegally dumped waste lying near one of the shops opposite to the DC’s Office.
Incidentally, the waste was dumped directly below a signboard hung up on an electric pole by the Jowai Municipal Board (JMB) which read Wat Bret Nuit Hangne (Don’t throw rubbish here).
Sunday church goers were seen crossing the area with their noses protected to escape the foul smell emanating from the waste.
“It seems like nobody cares about cleanliness here and no one respects prohibition,” a man, who happened to pass by the area, lamented.
The illegal accumulation of garbage is attributed to the traders doing business at Iawmusiang, who, despite being aware of the health hazards, continue to flout hygiene norms by candidly dumping wastes in the market place.
People in the knowhow of things lamented that waste was being openly dumped in the market place since there is no waste dumping site at Iawmusiang. Local traders collect and dump all kinds of waste around the market place without bothering to check whether the waste was being cleared by the JMB or sweepers appointed by the JHADC.
“There should be a proper location for temporary disposal of garbage at Iawmusiang so that the JMB or the JHADC could collect the waste from the spot and dispose it properly”, a concerned resident said, while adding, “I am not sure when the JMB or JHADC vehicles would dispose off the waste. It might take two to three days or even a week to do so”.