Guwahati garbage: nowhere to go

Guwahati, July 9 (UNI) Sandwiched between court orders, vocal protests from local inhabitants and environmentalists armed with international convention proceedings, Asom's capital has been looking desperately to find a solution of disposing its garbage.

''Till date, we are dumping at Borgaon, near the Deepar Beel,'' said Guwahati Muncipal Comissioner (GMC) Rajesh Prasad.

The court asked him to move all kind of dumpings from the last location at Sasal by July 7 to Borgaon. The compliance has led to more battle with the environmentalists.

''The present location, Boragaon is close to Deepor Beel and the dumping will irrevocably change the eco-system of the wetland, which is the main life support of Guwahati,'' said renowned environmental scientist Prof Dulal Goswami.

Mr Achintya Bezbarua, who has been associated with Deepor Beel, the wet land near the city for past two decades, said from North Dakota State University, United States ''Well I am a realist, not an antidevelopment person. I understand that environment has taken a back seat as we are trying to achieve what rest of India has achieved already. I understand the frustration some will have when you say stop dumping at Deepor.'' The people of Sasal are also up in arms. ''For three years we are living with the garbage. There are not less than 10,000 people within one kilometre radius of the pit and there are already signs of diseases. We will not allow the garbage to remain even if there is opposition from some sector,'' said Mr Ashok Kumar Bayan, President Doordrahan Resident Staff Welfare society.

Mr Bayan has been leading a campaign on behalf of the Prasar Bharti employees whose residential quarters is close to the present dumping pit.

Guwahati produces more than 30 tonnes of garbage every day but there has not been any scientific planning to dispose the waste over the years.

The GMC is adamant the state government has allotted them the new and in Borgaon and they will continue to dump the waste there till a solution is found. But in the process, Deepor beel is getting endangered.

Deepor Beel is one of the largest and most important 'beels' in the Brahmaputra valley of lower Asom and is a representative wetland type found within the biogeographic province, 'Burma Monsoon Forest'.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the lake supports threatened species of birds like spot billed pelican, lesser adjutant stork, greater adjutant stork, black necked stork and large whistling teal.

UNI MT SP PA PM1851