In Arunachal Swachch Bharat takes U turn, SBM Agency collects garbage and dumps it in River

The DUDA has been collecting garbage door to door ever since the start of the SBM and dumping them into the Kameng

Deputy Commissioner of East Kameng district Thursday passed a preventive order asking the District Urban Development Agency (DUDA) to stop dumping garbage into the Kameng River, one of the state's important rivers. The order was issued after a strongly worded letter to the Deputy Commissioner by YMfCR-AP Chairperson S D Loda who is fighting to save the river for long.

"Whereas it has been reported to me that DUDA is dumping solid waste/garbage of the Town area in the Kameng river, and whereas you have been instructed a number of times in writing as well as orally to stop dumping in the river, and whereas garbage dumping in the river several environmental and ecological challenges, I, Deputy Commissioner of East Kameng district under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure hereby direct you to not dump garbage in the river with immediate effect," Gaurav Singh Rajawat wrote in the order dated April 18, 2019.

"Failing to comply with the above directions shall invite necessary legal proceedings under the Indian Penal Code and CrPC. FIR will be lodged without any further notice if the order is not complied with," the order further noted.

Rajawat took cognizance of a complaint letter by the Youth Mission for Clean River — Arunachal Pradesh (YMfCR-AP), a non-profit based organisation in Arunachal.

"It is ridiculous that the UD being stakeholders and implementing agency of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is dumping all the garbage and waste into the Kameng River which is the biggest threat to the cleanliness of rivers and aquatic life," said YMfCR chairman S D Loda who is fighting to save the river.

"The DUDA has been collecting garbage door to door ever since the start of the SBM and dumping them into the Kameng," Prem Taba, a research scholar at Rajiv Gandhi University said.

The dumping is being done near the Nicham Sonam bridge in Seppa, the district headquarters of East Kameng district.

"DUDA is implementing the SBM, which was received very well by the people in Seppa. They realized the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. However, DUDA did not know how to dispose off the waste. When we contacted them last year, they said they did not have a waste treatment plant or landfill to dispose of the waste," said Taba, who is also a member of YMfCR-AP.

He said the men of DUDA collect the garbage in the morning, put it in their truck and then go and dump it in the Kameng. "Sometimes, they burn it."

It is particularly painful to watch the waste being dumped in the Kameng because it once used to be a very clean river, he said. "We used to drink from it and use its water to cook. But since the start of the SBM, a vast stretch of the river has been filled with floating plastic bottles and other types of waste," he added.