ITANAGAR, 21 Mar: On the occasion of the World Forest Day, a group of over 80 volunteers scooped up nearly four truckloads of garbage after cleaning the Yagamso stream in IG Park here on Tuesday.
The cleaning drive was initiated by NGOs Abralow Memorial Multipurpose Society and Youth Mission for Clean River, in association with the Arunachal Dogs and Cats Rescue and the Arunachal Yuva Shakti, and with support from the Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Limited.
Most of the waste consisted of diapers and sanitary disposables, meat, household mixed waste, construction waste, thermocol, broken crockery, dead animals, and electronic items.
“The waste was picked up by hired vehicles for transfer to the actual dumpyard in Hollongi,” Mission Clean Yagamso coordinator Prem Taba informed.
He said that, apart from polluting the water, plastic waste is taking a toll on the aesthetic beauty of Yagamso, which is the only stream flowing through IG Park.
“The underground water is also getting polluted and its level is lowered due to the dumping of waste,” Taba said.
“Despite repeated appeals by our NGOs and door-to-door campaign to prevent waste dumping, people continue to throw waste into the stream, treating it like a sewer. This uncontrolled and unchecked dumping into Yagamso is harmful to the ecology and directly pollutes the Senki river, which is a lifeline for the capital city,” Taba said.
“This year’s World Forest Day, with the theme ‘Forests and health’, encourages giving rather than taking, because healthy forests lead to healthy people. Our waterways need to be given more consideration and care,” he added.
