Editor,
All will agree that there is reduction in littering and improvement in garbage disposal after the decision taken by the KHADC under Ardent Basaiawmoit’s able leadership. The state machinery is, I believe stronger than that of the KHADC or the Mylliem Syiemship so if the Government has the will Shillong will be cleaner in the near future. This is evident when Central Government dignitaries visit Shillong and rapid whitewashing and facelift is given to the city on a war footing. Moving around Shillong in public or market areas, especially on Sunday one can see garbage overflowing into the streets, walkways and bins with a nauseating smell. If any area is free of this condition, it is an exception and not a rule. Obviously, the garbage is not being cleared on Sundays or regularly as it should be in the absence of efficient waste management practices.
The bulk of the garbage generated in Shillong is commercial waste. Thermocol boxes used to transport fish, polythene sheets, cardboard boxes and other packing material are strewn around in the late evenings and early mornings all the way from Police Bazar to Iewduh and in every local bazaar area. Shopkeepers deposit their junk on the road, irresponsibly. If one passes by Bawri Mansion footpath towards Malki, one will see tonnes of waste being thrown there unashamedly. I wonder, if the people staying in the beautiful houses surrounding this area are aware of this or if they are immune to the stink and pollution.
With the increase of vehicles in the city, auto workshops and auto service centres have sprung up everywhere and even by the road side. Due to the negligence and callousness of the mechanics, used automobile parts, wrappers, cartons, mechanical and fuel waste are dumped on the streets and also float on the rivers and streams. This is rampant in Keating Road, Polo etc. As a result, drains get clogged and streets and rivers get flooded with oil slicks and slime after every passing shower. We have just witnessed this and will see more of this after another heavy shower.
I would just suggest a few measures for the concerned authorities to implement. (1) Penalise every shop from Motphran to Uncles’ Shop and Police Bazar area. This will push them to keep a check on the culprit that dump garbage irresponsibly. The penalized ones will catch the ultimate polluter (2) Roadside hawkers should be penalized as well since they do the maximum littering especially in Motphran- G S Road area (3) Garbage trailers can be brought in which can be left overnight at strategic points. People can deposit their waste in these trailers which can then be pulled away by the authorities before dawn (4) Policemen patrolling these strategic areas on a routine basis should be given added responsibility to maintain discipline and catch the errant persons or shop owners (5)Waste disposal by business establishments should be regulated by the Government. Shopkeepers and traders should be made responsible for proper waste management in their areas (6) Garbage should be collected as early as possible before the city awakes.
A collective effort by one and all to maintain basic civic sense is requested to achieve this goal collectively.
Yours etc.,
R.N.Rymbai,
Shillong.8
