ZIRO, 14 Nov: “Let us not allow our lone river to turn into a dirty river like the Yamuna, and we should all make concerted efforts to save our dying Kley river,” said local MLA and Agriculture Minister Tage Taki while participating in the 9th edition of Mission Clean Kley River (MCKR) here in Lower Subansiri district on Monday.
The minister appealed to those residing near the river to not release household water directly into the river but to treat it prior to releasing it.
“It is not possible for the Apatani Youth Association (AYA) and the district administration to continue handholding the cleanup operation for long, and it is the duty of conscientious citizens of the valley to keep the river clean,” he said.
The minister also donated T-shirts to all the participants.
Despite Monday being a working day, more than 2,500 residents of Ziro valley turned up to lend a helping hand in cleaning up the 29-km stretch of the Kley river surrounding the valley.
Using traditional bamboo poles, brooms, nets, clippers and gunny bags, the participants cleaned up piled-up garbage, plastic bottles, sanitary napkins, polythene bags and dead animal carcasses from the river, and disposed of them at the designated dumping sites, using garbage disposal vans provided by the urban development & housing department.
Urging the denizens of the valley to continue cooperating with the AYA in keeping the Kley river clean, AYA president Tapi Mali informed that
the district administration recently issued an office memorandum, outsourcing the task of cleaning up the river to the AYA “on pilot-project basis.”
“Considering the sincerity, dedication and seriousness of the AYA for the past eight years in upkeep of our lone river, the district administration, the AWAZ, CBOs, PRI leaders, student leaders and NGOs in a joint meeting entrusted the responsibility of maintaining the cleanliness of the Kley river to the AYA, which is a huge responsibility and daunting task for us,” said Mali.
He appealed to the people of the valley to use civic sense and not dump garbage into the river.
Apatani Women Association Ziro (AWAZ) president Hibu Lilly and its general secretary Leegang Ania urged women not to dump used sanitary napkins, diapers, and plastic items into the river.
“We also appeal to our women farmers not to dispose of plastic items into the river but to carry the leftover plastic items from the paddy fields back to their homes for proper disposal,” they said.
The AWAZ representatives informed that this year they found the Kley river cleaner than last year. “Perhaps our recent one-month awareness campaigns in the villages on proper garbage segregation, management and disposal has been effective and has brought some positive changes in garbage management in the valley, which is indicative and reflected through a cleaner Kley river,” they said.
‘Operation MCKR’ was divided into 16 sectors, with an overall in-charge team leader from the AYA assisted by a HoD and participating members. The drive started at 9 am and ended at noon.
DC Bamin Nime, HoDs, PRI leaders, and members of the AWAZ, the Apatani Gaon Bura-Buri Association, CBOs, and the Apatani Students’ Union, besides students of St Claret and Mudo Tamo colleges, the higher secondary schools in the valley, and market welfare committees participated in the drive. (DIPRO)
