Inadequate waste disposal system breeds pollution
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 10 2022: Conti-nuous population growth on one hand and disappearance of vacant space for disposal of garbage and waste materials has become a serious public health issue.

The problem is felt more acutely in semi-urban and rural areas where there is no dustbin or garbage collection system.

In the absence of a proper dustbin or garbage collection system, a large number of people have been disposing domestic waste materials on roadsides, river banks and other public places on daily basis.

These piles of garbage and waste materials accumulate over time and pose serious challenge to land management, environment and public health.

Such large mounds of garbage can be seen at many greater Imphal areas and they present a highly abominable sight.

Inadequate waste disposal system breeds pollution

Large quantities of waste materials and plastic bottles can be seen piled up or littered on the banks of Imphal River, Kongba River and Iril River in Imphal East district and nearby drains.

Similar scenes can be seen at many semi-urban areas of Imphal West district.

Huge quantities of garbage and waste materials can be seen piled up on the banks of Nambul River and roadsides.

These piles of waste materials have been causing different forms of pollution apart from clogging many drains which leads to flash floods whenever there is little rainfall.

Even though the situation is growing from bad to worse, the Government seems little interested in addressing this problem and it has not yet bothered to extend the garbage collection and disposal system to semi-urban areas.

Highlighting the inconveniences they have been facing due to absence of a proper waste disposal system, many sections of the people have forwarded certain suggestions to the Government.

One M Ibotombi of Kongba Ucheckon pointed out that most of the river banks are filled or littered with waste materials as there is no vacant space within residential compounds for disposing domestic waste materials, unlike in the past.

Asking how long waste materials can be stored in domestic dustbins, Ibotombi highlighted the urgent need for Government authorities to place large dustbins at suitable places where people of the surrounding areas can deposit their waste materials.

Waste materials collected in these large dustbins can be disposed by the authorities at appropriate places as a routine activity, he said.

In the absence of a such a systematic waste disposal mechanism, people are unable to keep their surroun- dings clean despite all the efforts of local clubs, Ibotombi said.

One W Lenin of Haobam Marak said that a garbage collection vehicle comes to their locality but only once in a week.

As there is not enough space within each household to store the waste materials generated on daily basis for one full week, people are compelled to dispose garbage on roadsides and river banks, he said.

Moreover, waste materials, when stored for days within residential compounds, get decomposed, stinky and become fertile breeding grounds for germs.

Pointing out that absence of a proper waste disposal mechanism and disappearance of vacant space for disposing garbage has become a serious issue in many parts of the State, Lenin highlighted the urgent need for construction of adequate number of dumping pits and implementing of effective sewerage projects.