Mismanaged Garbage : Need for an efficient Sewage Plant for Imphal city

Seram Neken *

Rotting garbage piled up along BT Road in January 2013 :: Pix - TSE

Huge quantum of sewage is ferried and dumped haphazardly at Lamphelpat area near the games village every day. No fencing, no management, no recycling, no effective treatment. Heavy winds blow out the scattered garbage to nearby places. The approaching windy season makes it more convenient for the huge sewage to scatter here and there. Now, heavy rains will come and drain out the wastes to pollute nearby habitation. All sorts of lives - birds, animals and human beings will bear the effects of environmental pollution arising out of mismanaged garbage. Even if the quantum of waste increases day by day, no effective treatment plant is in sight.

Cleanliness is a part of our culture. A man of dirty habits is far from civilization. So, with the progress of civilization man cleans himself more and more. He cleans his body. He cleans his mind and heart. He cleans all his actions and manners. He cleans his soul. This will lead him to divinity. All other cleanings depend on the cleanliness of the body.

Clean food cooked in the clean pot and served in the clean dishes, will give us health and happiness. If we clean our bodies regularly, we will have fair complexion and be free from diseases. We will look fit and smart. If we wear clean dress our mind will be happy. Cleanliness gives us a cheerful mind. We are more interested to write on a clean notepad than on a dirty one.

Hence, we write more and better. We like to read clean books to understand better. So, cleanliness brings us progress and improvement in all fields of activities and in all spheres of life. By cleanliness of body and limbs, cleanliness of all our articles of use, cleanliness of our dwellings and soul, cleanliness of surroundings, we gradually move towards divinity. Hence, there is saying. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".

Lack of a concrete waste management policy and proper disposal site has been the cause for failure of the much-hyped Zero Garbage campaign launched on 13th August 2010 in Manipur. Besides lack of public awareness on the disposal of garbage, the government's failure to locate proper garbage dumping site and chemical treatment of the disposed wastes have been major drawbacks of the initiative.

According to the programme of the Zero Garbage campaign, a long term policy was to be formulated to make the city waste-free where garbage is drained out directly to the treatment plant. Necessary equipment was also promised to be procured for use in solid waste management and collection. However, zero garbage campaign still remains verbatim.

Mismanaged garbage causes pollutions of water, air and land. Disposal areas attract wild habitats such as rats, dogs and birds endangering lives of human beings. It brings diseases such as plague, meningitis, pneumonitis, and toxoplama-gondii. Accumulation of infectious or toxic waste items lead to infectious diseases associated with medical waste that can cause or heighten an epidemic. Besides contamination of air & water, garbage pollution causes increased disease risk, attraction of undesirable wildlife, soil sealing and flood problems. Throwing away garbage instead of other disposal methods like burning and recycling causes sanitation concerns too.

The garbage dumping site of Imphal Municipal Council located at Lamphelpat has surely become a den of bacteria. Detection of E-Coli contaminated water at the Langol area was reported a few years back. E-Coli is a dreaded bacteria which causes severe cramps and diarrhea. Since many poor people are earning their livelihood by fishing from the Lamphelpat area, it's a serious health hazard. It is very necessary that dumping of waste shall be done with treatment of chemicals for manning the unwanted germs.

Health deterioration in areas where there is improper access to garbage disposal are witnessed. Many cities around the world are attempting to regulate garbage disposal in a variety of ways. Some of the ways of reducing garbage is by recycling and reusing as much as it is feasible. Many urban areas are attempting to encourage that device.

Another way is to make it easy to properly dispose off garbage. Many areas are prohibiting non recyclables in certain products like the plastics. Others are making it illegal to dispose of certain dangerous items without the proper authorization.

Garbage pollution is a serious problem in Imphal city. These range from creating an unpleasant atmosphere to creating a center for disease infection to altering the environmental quality of the water, soil and native populations, from dirtying the city to disturbing road traffic. With rains and winds coming, it is time for the state government to implement a solid waste management policy with a properly treated disposal site.

VOICE OF THE WEEK

Haphazard dumping of garbage at Lamphelpat area without any waste management technology causes pollution of all types and endangers the lives of birds, animals and humans of the area. Winds and rains will make the situation graver. The authority concerned has to devise an effective sewage plant for the huge quantum of garbage ferried from the city on daily basis.