POMA, Sep 9: The Poma Rillo Moin Youth Welfare Society (PRMYWS) conducted a social service on Sunday to clean up the Poma river here in Sangdupota circle of Papum Pare district.
The cleanliness drive started near the government middle school. The river and its surrounding areas were littered with bottles, plastic and other wastes left behind by picnickers and visitors.
The situation has become so bad that several villagers who were fishing in the Poma river received injuries from bottles and beer cans left behind by visitors.
After the daylong cleanliness drive, the volunteers collected enough thrash to fill up the backs of two pickup trucks.
Meanwhile, the PRMYWS has appealed to visitors, especially those coming from the capital region, not to litter the river area.
“We are not against people visiting the Poma river. But there are designated places with proper garbage facilities where visitors can enjoy. We appeal to them to visit only these designated places,” said PRMYWS president Techi Abo.
“Visitors are welcome, but we appeal to them to respect the rules and regulations set by the villagers. Most of the time they don’t care about the sentiment of the villagers and pollute the environment and the river,” Abo said.
The PRMYWS also alleged that several cases of illegal hunting, fishing, and collection of raw materials by outsiders have been reported in the area.
