TURA: In the aftermath of the West Garo Hills District Administration ordering the closure of private hotels in Tura town for not adhering to the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal, questions have been raised over the poor maintenance of the garbage dumping site at Ronghon Songgital by the Tura Municipal Board (TMB) with the Rongkhon Songgital Environmental Committee (RSEC) even threatening to move the NGT if action is not taken immediately.
In their complaint to the TMB CEO, the committee questioned why necessary action is not being taken to check the environmental hazard, as garbage dumped at the site has been spilling over to the Christian cemetery below as well as to the Ringrey stream creating health hazards for locals residing downstream who use the stream daily.
“The human feces collected from all over the town by the TMB are dumped openly and has spilled over to the cemetery which has hurt the sentiments of the people as their loved ones are laid to rest there. The waste also spills over to the Ringrey stream resulting in serious pollution to it, water from which is used by downstream dwellers from Damalgre, Garobadha, Dumni and Rangsakona under the districts of West and South West Garo Hills,” the committee said.
Meanwhile, local residents and others who visited the site have informed that the waste landfill site now emits an unbearable foul smell putting the people at risk from adverse health effects.
Questions have also been raised by the people on the allotment of a cesspool tanker to the TMB by the Urban Affairs Department without first establishing a sewage treatment plant in the town.
In its present state, the dumping ground has no way of controlling the spillages and the seepages to the Ringrey stream below which is a lifeline for many villages.
The TMB has been operating the tanker since the last 10 years or so without properly disposing of the human waste although repeated appeals for proper measures to be taken have been made in the past.
The people feel that such a situation could have been averted had the TMB taken proper measures before it got out of hand.
“By the irresponsible act, the TMB has violated Section 33 (A) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Section 31 (A) of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, which is a serious offense and liable for action,” they said and demanded that the site is no longer used as a dumping ground.
