By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, Dec 19: A meeting for the rejuvenation and restoration of Wah Umkhrah, Wah Umshyrpi and Wah Umkhen was convened by Chief Secretary DP Wahlang to take stock of the status of the said three rivers at the State Convention Centre on Tuesday. The Rangbah Shnong and Secretaries of the Dorbar Shnong falling around the areas surrounding these rivers attended the meeting to deliberate over the challenges of keeping these rivers garbage-free and prevent them from being repositories of human fecal matter since houses located along the river bank directly release sewage and domestic waste into the river.
Officers of the State Pollution Control Board, Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), the Additional District Magistrates (ADM) in charge of the seven stretches along which the two major rivers Umkhrah and Umshyrpi flow and which are under the watch of an ADM made their presentations on how much has been done in collaboration with the Dorbar Shnong and what the challenges are. From the graphic presentations made it was seen that along the Umkhrah river, there was a cowshed and the entire waste from it was emptying itself into the Umkhrah. The immersion ghat at Polo does not have a single toilet and yet the area around it was being illegally occupied by interlopers.
Total fines collected by the Shillong Municipal Board from the violators amounted to Rs 11.33 lakh. On this, Chief Secretary DP Wahlang stated that the fines are meant to be a deterrent and for people to stop violating the rules. “If people don’t stop releasing their septic tanks into the river, those latrines should be sealed until they take action to construct septic tanks within their compounds,” Wahlang quipped.
Presentations were also made by the Operation Clean-up team to stress on the need to hold each Dorbar Shnong accountable by putting up wire meshes across the three rivers to demarcate the boundaries between one Shnong and the next so that each Shnong can do an audit of the waste disposed off into the river and accordingly make arrangements to clean up the mess or fine the violators of they are caught on CCTV throwing garbage into the rivers.
An Operation Clean-up (OCU) team leader said that they have been cleaning the River Umkaliar on a fortnightly basis since August 2019, but each time they return the quantum of garbage remains the same.
The Chief Secretary urged the Rangbah Shnong to cooperate in what he said is a last-ditch effort to clean up the rivers because, he said, “If we fail now then we will never be able to save our rivers. We have to be brutal and those with cowsheds next to the river should be told to stop that activity immediately.” In the interaction, Rangbah Shnong of Jaiaw Shyiap Lum Pyllon, PD Nongrum, pointed out that the state government has to agree along with the KHADC to have a strong civic body to protect rivers and manage waste. Nongrum said this institutional framework is critical to the success of the programme.
Rangbah Shnong of Wahingdoh pointed to the need for a proper research into the problems plaguing the Umkhrah and other rivers and long-term solutions to the problem. He also emphasised that the Shillong Municipal Board needs specialists and environmentalists who understand the crux of the matter, rather than generalists to man the Board.
One after another, the Rangbah Shnong pleaded that they have no teeth to implement any regulation brought out by the government from time to time because their status is ambivalent. “We need to have teeth in order to implement government regulations,” the Rangbah Shnong stated.
Former police officer, M Kharkrang, who is currently a Rangbah Shnong, proposed that the police should also be used to strictly enforce environmental laws.
Some members also raised the contentious issue of how bio-medical waste is being handled at Marten and sought for a proper analysis on how that dangerous waste is being handled. Senior advocate Anuradha Paul asked why the ban on single use plastic which is the major cause of river pollution has failed repeatedly in Meghalaya.
Additional Chief Secretary, Shakil Ahamad, while summing up the proceedings, said that cleanliness begins at home and in the family and urged the Rangbah Shnong to conduct fortnightly awareness programmes so that residents develop a conscience and responsibility about proper disposal of waste. “To say that garbage trucks don’t arrive on time or on specific days and therefore people are tempted to throw their waste in the rivers is not the correct attitude. It shows that we are irresponsible citizens who will violate the law at the drop of a hat. This is not acceptable,” Ahamad said.
It was proposed to have a follow-up meeting in the first week of January.