Behavioural intervention in Guwahati’s waste management

As cleaning of drains is intensified in Guwahati to prevent waterlogging during the rainy season, it also exposes the irresponsible behaviour of a section of city residents that is to blame for inadequate drainage of storm water. They dump plastic bottles and household solid waste, clogging drains, but would conveniently shift the entire blame on the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) authorities for waterlogging in the city. Such irresponsible residents who lack knowledge of the basic purpose of drainage networks are not fit to live in a city. Drains are constructed for flushing wastewater from household and public toilets, kitchens, and surface runoff from residential and other compounds during rains, while city authorities either collect solid waste door to door or provide dustbins to dump such waste. Apart from addressing problems of siltation on the drains, making these erring city residents and business owners learn to distinguish solid waste from liquid waste is critical to improving the drainage system in the capital city. Such city residents, by dumping plastic and other solid waste into drains, lose their moral right to seek accountability from GMC officials and employees for clogged drains resulting in waterlogging in a locality. Some people argue that the city authorities leaving the drains open and without cover has aggravated the problem. They insist that covered drains can address the problem, as people then will not be able to dump garbage into drains. Basic civic responsibility demands that even if drains are uncovered, citizens are not supposed to dump any solid waste into them. For a city like Guwahati with limited revenue collection, the construction of covered drains raises the cost of the drainage project and is required to be taken up in phases. When GMC authorities are compelled to spend more resources clearing the debris from clogged drains, they are unable to devote the required resources and manpower to other emerging problems, such as the rising rate of siltation in the drainage network due to earth cutting on the city hills. This, however, does not imply that GMC authorities are trying their best to address the problem. To the contrary, a nexus of corrupt officials and contractors has taken advantage of the deployment of men and material to clean drains to fill their pockets by raising inflated bills. Over the years, the problem of siltation in the drainage network has snowballed due to the failure of the city authorities to halt illegal earth cutting and encroachment of the city hills. With the rapid increase in population on the hills, the problem will aggravate further. Addressing soil erosion by undertaking a massive plantation drive on the hills has become an urgent necessity to prevent the drainage network in the city plains from collapsing. A permanent solution to the problem will continue to be elusive until the issues of settlement or relocation of hill dwellers are settled by the government and the city authorities. Irrespective of the policy decision on settlement or relocation of hill dwellers, restoration of green cover should be the first and foremost concern for not just the authorities but also for the city residents. Reducing the load of cleaning solid waste from city drains needs to be prioritised by undertaking a massive drive against the dumping of solid waste. Deterrent measures like the imposition of heavy fines, suspension of trade licenses, street vendor permits, etc. should not remain on paper but must be pursued aggressively to discipline violators. Elected representatives need to be entrusted with the responsibility to undertake massive result-oriented campaigning in their respective wards to bring a complete halt to the dumping of any kind of solid waste in the drains. Conscious residents in each ward must play a pro-active role in preventing the dumping of solid waste into drains and promptly bringing it to the notice of the GMC authorities if anyone is not willing to heed their appeal. The GMC does not have adequate staff to monitor each and every locality round the clock, and the conscious residents need to play a crucial role. The GMC authorities, deploying a flying squad on the line of city patrol of city police to immediately act suo moto whenever they come across any incident of dumping of solid waste into drains or whenever residents of any locality bring any such incidents to their notice, will be crucial to encourage alert residents to play their part. Simultaneously, the GMC authorities also need to push for the for the segregation of wastes at source in households, commercial establishments, markets, and business places, as well as the regular and timely collection of segregated waste. Those city residents who consider the entire drainage network or water bodies to be dumping grounds cannot seek accountability from the authorities for a lack of an effective drainage system or waterlogging. Behavioural aspects of waste management, which have been long neglected, need to be prioritised to put “Misson flood-free Guwahati” on the right track.