SHILLONG, MAR 8: The opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on Tuesday slammed the state government for its failure to address the issue of waste management, which has to a great extent affected Jowai, the district headquarters of West Jaintia Hills.
Participating during a short duration discussion on the issue in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma also warned that the NPP MLA from Jowai Wailadmiki Shylla may even lose in the upcoming Assembly elections if the garbage issue is not resolved at the earliest. He said the garbage issue reflects where the focus of the government is.
“Therefore, I would like to urge the government to try to live up to the expectation of the people and demonstrate the will and set their priorities right,” he said.
Earlier while moving a discussion on the issue, Mawsynram MLA Himalaya Shangpliang said that surprisingly, the Jowai Municipal authorities have failed in the disposal of garbage not only in Iawmusiang market but other markets belonging to the Iawthymme at Ladthadlaboh, Presbyterian market, CNI market and so on.
Further, the dorbar shnongs have also paid service fees to the Jowai Municipal Board.
All the garbage of the Jowai town has been accumulated in several places of the town, without disposing of them in the dumping yard, he said.
Stating that the Jowai Municipal Board does not even have a garbage dumping ground, Shangpliang said due to absence of a dumping ground all the garbage of the town is left unattended.
In fact, all the trucks of the JMB are loaded with garbage and standing still with no directions from the authorities to dispose of the garbage because there is no place to dump the garbage.
He said it is even more astonishing to see a huge pile of garbage dumped in front of the DC’s office in Jowai, which includes dead and rotten animals like dogs and cats. Thus leaving behind a foul smell around the area.
Shangpliang said this careless attitude of the Urban Affairs department and the Jowai Municipal Board is going to lead to spreading of various diseases in and around Jowai town.
“I urge the government to identify a suitable location for dumping the garbage immediately and treat this matter as the top most priority. I also urge upon the urban affairs department to monitor the functioning of the JMB particularly in maintaining the civic sense of Jowai town,” he said.
In his reply, Urban Affairs Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar said that the government has taken priority steps to find a permanent solution to the long pending issue of waste management and its disposal in Jowai town.
He said the Jowai Municipal Board had signed a few agreements with other villages for new temporary landfill sites – Moochudtrai, Mookhiat, Myntriang. However, there are many disruptions that affected disposal of waste at this new site, he said.
By Our Reporter
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