SHILLONG, March 10: The Riwar Environment Protection and Sustainable Development Organisation (REPSDO), with branches across Pynursla and adjoining areas, has been involved in cleaning up the villages especially those frequented by tourists. But what is a major concern for them is the dumping of garbage in an area that is unfenced and left untended. The mountain of plastics is simply burnt and the place emits smoke 24×7.
REPSDO president Restone Khongtani says that during the rainy season all the debris from the top of the hillock where garbage is disposed by the truckloads each day and which includes garbage from the Pynursla market, flows down to the Umkhat River which is a source of drinking water.
held at Riwar College on Saturday. (ST)
On Saturday, the REPSDO team took the team from Operation Clean-Up (OCU) to see the garbage dump. What the team saw there was shocking. Broken television sets, plastic furniture and all kinds of household materials have been dumped into the place with no plan whatsoever on how to treat the garbage. Finding themselves at their wits’ end, REPSDO is trying to team up with others involved in environment protection to build solidarity and explore common grounds of working together.
They also want to draw the attention of the government to the critical nature of the waste problem in their area.
It is with this intent that an environment awareness programme was held on Saturday at Riwar College, Rangthylliang, Pynursla, where students and teachers of the college and also students from the adjoining Asorphi Higher Secondary School were present. This programme was organised by chairperson of the college’s governing body, Lenin K Bareh in collaboration with Principal, S Khongthohrem where members of OCU were also present.
The sum and substance of the awareness programme was how environmental awareness has to start with the self and only then can it extend to the outside world.
Aiban Swer, Director of Meghalaya Institute of Governance, while addressing the students said that waste needs to be segregated and there are items among the waste material that can be recycled and from which people can earn decent incomes. This awareness needs to be created so that a waste recovery centre is created in the villages and people can work to turn organic waste into manure even while the plastic waste is picked by interested people for recycling as is done in Marten, Shillong.
Swer said that those handling waste in Pynursla need to see what is happening in Marten so that they can also learn how waste is being dealt with. He also said that an entrepreneur from Pynursla could easily find a revenue model from the waste dumped in the area.
Patricia Mukhim, Editor of The Shillong Times and president of OCU advised the students to think of the long-term impacts of single-use plastic on the environment and how loads of these plastics are landing up in rivers and polluting the waters.
“Make it a point to carry your own bags when going out shopping and please use the ‘sla’ (broad leaf) which was traditionally used for packing meat and vegetables in markets across the state,” Mukhim said adding that the environment has to be saved now so that it can become sustainable for the future generation.
Khongtani told the students to join hands with REPSDO in their cleaning drives and also be conscious of the pernicious effects of unregulated waste disposal. Khongtani listed out the number of awareness programmes and the actual cleaning exercise undertaken over the years, often using personal resources since the organisation is not getting any assistance from any quarters.
“We are committed to cleaning up all the Riwar areas and keeping it clean just as Mawlynnong which is also in Riwar area and is known for its cleanliness. We are enlisting all who wish to see a cleaner future to join us in this endeavour,” Khongtani said.
He also stated that he would take a sample of the water from Umkhat River for testing at the laboratory since many doctors have said that people in the area regularly suffer from stomach ailments.
Jiwat Vaswani of OCU and the CEO of Jiva Group of Hotels was also present on the occasion and said he is always ready to team up with groups and organisations that are committed to cleaning the environment.
Principal of Riwar College, S Khongthohrem thanked Team OCU for visiting the college and sharing thoughts on how to manage waste. “As far as is possible, it is important to go back to nature and use leaves to pack food items wherever possible,” he said, urging students to make it a habit not to throw sweets and chips packets out of car windows.
“The packets must be brought home and disposed of along with other garbage. But in no case should things be thrown anywhere and everywhere,” Khongthohrem emphasized.
The awareness programme also included an interactive question-answer session.