TODAY -

Plastic waste 'festival' continues at Hapta Kangjeibung
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, December 06 2022: After the Manipur Sangai Festival-2022 concluded on November 30, Hatpa Kangjeibung is now hosting a peculiar festival of polythene and plastic bottle wastes drawing cynical attention of people who happen to pass by the venue.

While the Sangai Festival showcases the tourism potential, culture, tradition, beauty, handloom, handicraft products and cuisines of the state as well as the warm hospitality of the people, this peculiar festival shows the sick mentality of the people instead.

Everybody wants to keep their surrounding clean and free from litters and it can be seen in the daily chores of every house wherein the female members generally sweep and mop clean the floors of patio and indoor while male members sweep clean the courtyards and gates.

However, these same people leave everything beyond imagination when it comes to the cleanliness of public places as most of the people litter waste in public places without having any second thought.

This can be easily visible in the markets and public places of the state.

Ironically, those same people share and forward videos of Japanese fans cleaning football stadium in Qatar after every match Japan played on social media.

Yet, they never pause for a second the wastes they litter in public places.

This year's Sangai Festival was different in many aspects from past editions.

Among those different things, volunteers could be seen picking up left-over waste at the venues of the festival and putting them in waste bins in order to keep the festival venue neat and clean.

As a result, visitors could experience a clean ground at the festival venues.

However, the scene at those venues after the festival was over and stalls were removed is disgusting.

Used polythene bags, plastic wrappers, plastic bottles, plastic packaging films and disposable cups lying scattered on the ground makes the festival venues look like dumping ground.

Recently, the National Green Tribunal directed the Manipur government to pay Rs 200 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid and liquid waste.

A bench headed by chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that remedial action cannot wait for an indefinite period, nor loose-ended timelines without accountability can be a solution.

It said the responsibility of the state is to have a comprehensive time-bound plan with tied-up resources to control pollution.

The bench, also Comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, said that it is high time the state realised its duty to the law and to citizens and adopts further monitoring at its own level.

The amount may be kept in a ring fenced account to be operated as per directions of the Chief Secretary, the tribunal said.

The funds can be utilised for setting up solid waste processing facilities, remediation of legacy waste and setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSSTPs), the green panel said.

On the other hand, young environmentalist Anish Ahmad of Kwakta cleaned the Sangai Festival venue of Sangai Ethnic Park at Moirang Khunou.

Photographs of the young environmentalist along with other small children cleaning the park were shared on social media.

While the initiative is indeed a commendable act, the question is why the government or the public responsible for the litters should wait for somebody like Anish Ahmad to clean their mess.

The stall owners can take along the waste they generate when they return and dispose them at a suitable place.

On the other hand, authority concerned of the government could also take up swift action to clean the festival venues as soon as the festival is over or instruct the stall owners to clean their mess.

Following the implementation of Manipur Plastic Policy 2022, the government banned polythene bags below 75 microns, disposable cups, wrappers and straws made of plastic from July 1 .

How did those plastic products, many of them included among banned products, made their way into the festival venues which were controlled and monitored by the government is also another question that comes into mind of many environmentalists.

Despite implementing the policy and notifying the ban, the main enforcing agency Manipur Pollution Control Board is doing nothing to enforce the ban.

Except for a few weeks after the notification was issued, these banned plastic products are readily available in the market.

Apart from occasional raids, no concrete plan to enforce the ban could be seen till date.

Many are questioning whether the board is still functioning or not.


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