Govt should support young environmentalists

Recently, during the World Forest Day, a group of volunteers cleaned Yagamso stream in IG Park, Itanagar, and collected nearly four truckloads of garbage. 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 (ISCDCL). This is a very good initiative and such cleanliness drives should be regularly conducted in the rivers and streams of the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR).

It is very encouraging to see youngsters coming out to participate in such kind of cleanliness event. This shows that they are concerned for the future of the state. The ISCDCL should try to engage these volunteers on a regular basis to create awareness about the need to keep the rivers clean. Today, the majority of the rivers and streams of the ICR are heavily polluted. The authorities concerned simply seem to have given up. No efforts are being made to keep these rivers and streams clean. In fact, due to pollution, some of the streams are slowly vanishing. Of late, volunteers, especially those of the Youth Mission for Clean River, have repeatedly raised concern over rivers of the ICR getting polluted. They have also conducted cleanliness drives in the past. These are good signs and the government should encourage such volunteers. But they also need to work out a long-term solution to deal with it.