SHILLONG: Wahumkhrah is a river which has to bear the brunt of pollution since ages and has been badly affected due to onslaught of human greed and lack of civic sense. The Task Force on Wahumkhrah river on Tuesday held a detailed discussed on how to safeguard the river on the occasion of annual Swachh Bharat day.
The meeting which was held in Power Gird headquarters in Shillong also discussed on over all aspect of segregation of waste and cleanliness of Shillong city which could go a long way in solving many issues in the city.
Former Nongthymmai MLA, Jemino Mawthoh, different NGOs, officials from Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, North Eastern Hill University, Rangbah Shnongs and different activists like Toki Blah and others attended the discussion which aimed to find out a long lasting solution to address the environmental concerns of the city.
Giving a presentation, social activist Toki Blah said that more awareness was needed to for sustainable cleaning for Wahumkhrah river while pointing out that the lack of enforcement on waste management is adding to the problems in the river.
“Solid waste management proposal on Bret unit concept must change and Solid waste disposal must be people driven and of socio economic benefits,” he said while calling for an immediate introduction of sewage system in the city which can be linked to each and every household.
WR Kharkrang, Environmental Engineer of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board while sharing his thoughts said that all the Dorbar Shnongs must put heavier taxes on people who build their houses or any other building along the river Wahumkhrah.
He also said that it was high time for Dorbar Shnongs to exercise their authority in totoin this regard.
Stressing on the need to have proper seggregation of waste since even the best technology will not work if there is no proper segregation, he added that the moment the waste was mixed, its value got reduced.
BK Tiwari, Professor of the environment science of NEHU, while speaking in the discussions maintained that Wahumkhrah river has high pollution right from its sources and many springs of the river is drying and there is a need for immediate rejuvenation of the springs.
He, however, added that disposal of solid waste in the river had gone down in last 4-5 years.
He also advised the members of the Central Puja Committee to be included in the task force as the committee disposes idols in the Wahumkhrah river during festive season.
On the other hand, Rangbah Shnong of Nongrah said that they had come up with several innovative ideas so that people contributed in the enforcement of waste management.
“We need new waste processing unit and power gird can come in and look at models to reduce transport frequency,” he added
He also said that there were instances when Dorbar segregates the wastes but Municipal Board did not do it.
Later, speaking to media persons, Former Nongthymmai MLA, Jemino Mawthoh lamented that despite the best efforts of all the stakeholders, the efforts were not making any headway
“We feel we should not stop here and we need to restore the past glory of Shillong,” he added
Asserting that the waste in Wahumkhrah is a matter of concern, he said that the views and suggestions in the meeting will be incorporated into an action plan
“We have also formed a small working group and we will take up all our action plan with the Government,” Mawthoh added