LET'S STOP POLLUTING THE HOLY CITY OF SIVASAGAR

Sukanya Bhagawati

(sukanya.bhagawati.bn19@aau.ac.in.

Under the guidance of Dr Pallab Kumar Sarma, Chief Scientist, Biswanath College of Agriculture)

A part from air and water pollution, the most serious problem which modern cit ies are facing is the solid waste disposal problem. The Municipal Solid Wastes Management and Handling Rules (2000) has defined 'municipal solid waste' as 'commercial and residential wastes generated in municipal or notified areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but includes treated bio-medical wastes. Solid wastes are an ever-increasing problem in most developing countries, including India. Heaps of garbage are seen here and there at public places which cause a nuisance in daily city life. The municipal authorities have been practising various techniques for solid waste management. But most of them cannot be considered as a permanent solution to get rid of this problem. It is important to ascertain the nature of waste whether it is bio-degradable or combustible in handling and disposal of solid waste. Combustion and landfill method of disposal further gives rise to problems like air, water and land pollution, affecting adversely the health of the man, and flora and fauna. Further, advanced and environmentally sound solid waste management techniques are not used in India. Instead of advanced scientific techniques, old methods are used which lead to the production of various pollutants affecting the environment. Therefore, a permanent solution is required to get rid of this problem. It is high time to think if there is any management technique we can practice easily which may reduce the impact of this problem permanently without adversely affecting the environment and biodiversity. Keeping these in view, a study was conducted in 2014 to survey the present status of garbage management and how much safe it is. Urban areas are severely affected by solid waste disposal.

City profile:

Sivasagar is one of the most culturally rich and famous cities of Assam. The Sivasagar town of Sivasagar district is located about 150 km east from Kaziranga National Park and 50 km east from Jorhat between 94°25' and 95°25' E longitude and 21°45' and 27°15' N latitude at 86.6 masl (metres above mean sea level). Sivasagar district is characterized by high humidity with an annual rainfall of about 2000-2300 mm nearly 60-80% of which occurs during the monsoon months. Pleasant autumn commences from October and winter from the end of November which lasts till the middle of February. Sivasagar Municipal Board, with a population of about 51 thousand is Sivasagar sub district's only municipal board located in the Sivasagar sub-district of Sivasagar district, Assam. The total geographical area of the Sivasagar Municipal Board is 11 km. The population density of the city is 4638 persons per km2. There are 14 wards in the city, among them Sivasagar Ward No 10 is the most populous ward with a population of 8311 and Sivasagar Ward No 08 is the least populous ward with a population of13791. Sivasagar is a well-recognized tourism destination and most of the time during the year it is heavily flooded by tourists all over the world.

Present condition:

Sivasagar municipal authorities have been following the practice of collecting and disposing of waste for a long time. There are instances where heaps of indisposed garbage was found in public places creating an unhealthy environment. Moreover, a significant quantity of garbage was thrown in nearby water bodies and drains resulting in water and air pollution. Further, in certain residential areas garbage was burnt without following the proper method. In addition to this, a person crossing Sivasagar by road may witness a municipal dumping site near Assam Darikapar, Namtial Pathar Sivasagar. This facility is situated close to a dense demographic area which is on the bank of river Darika, a sacred tributary of the Brahmaputra. Despite being beside National Highway 37, the dumping site did not have any fencing or entry gate until 2019. However, the Sivasagar Municipality Board has engaged itself in an endeavour to manage its waste management system. The board has come up with a proposed model action plan for 7 thematic areas which involves the waste management plan. This plan has been subdivided into-

1. Solid Waste Management

2. Plastic Waste Management

3. C&D Waste Management

4. Bio-Medical Waste Management

5. Hazardous Waste Management

6. E-Waste Management

As per the data of Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government Vol.27, 2021, the present status of Solid Waste Management, as revealed by the Sivasagar Municipality Board are as follows:

 Total Solid Waste Generation - 10.5 MT/day

 Quantity of dry waste segregated - 2.5 MT/day

 Quantity of wet waste segregated - 0.10 MT/day

 Quantity of C&D waste segregated - Collection not initiated

 Quantity of domestic hazardous waste collected - No facility

 Number of dumpsites - 01

Also, estimation of quantity stored in dumpsites, mechanical road sweeping, digesters (bio-methanation), composting operations, linkages with recyclers- these operations have not been initiated yet. In addition to this, Bio-Methanation Unit, Composting Unit, Material Recovery Facility, Waste Deposit Centres – these facilities are not yet available.

From the above data, it is clear that the Solid Waste Management status of Sivasagar lacks the adoption of several Waste Management operations. In addition to this, there is a lack of adequate infrastructural facilities which otherwise would have enabled the board to execute its strategies most efficiently.

What can we do at the household level to tackle this issue?

 Limited use of plastic- The only solution is to junk plastic and look for alternatives. For instance, substitute plastic cups and plastic pens with paper cups and vintage ink pens respectively. Ditch plastic straws, instead sip your drinks. To make nine plastic bags is takes as much energy as driving a car for one kilometre. Besides, plastic bags are harmful to the environment.

 Segregate Waste - Simply start by getting colour coated bins. Differentiate the bins into the following: Green for organic, yellow for glass, white for paper, grey for metal, red for hazard and blue for plastic. Segregate waste into two categories - Bio-Degradable and Non-Bio-Degradable. Put wet wastes like leftover foods, vegetables, peels etc., in an organic dustbin which can later be used for composting segregation of waste can reduce the garbage burden on the already overflowing landfills, thereby curbing the pollution levels.

 Adopt Composting - Composting can reduce household waste generation by 30 per cent. Composting is also beneficial for plant growth as it provides many essential nutrients for them and it can also be used as fertilizer. It is believed that a family of 4 can easily reduce their waste from 1000 Kg to less than 100 kg every year if they adopt segregation and composting.

 Reduce use of papers -Papers account for almost 35 per cent of the waste that is dumped in landfills. From paper cups to napkins everything ends up in landfills from the trash can. To reduce paper waste, start using old clothes like rags for cleaning around the house, instead of paper towels. Switch to hand towels from paper napkins in your kitchen. Avoid using paper plates at house parties.

 Stop burning garbage- Ask our neighbours to desist from burning solid wastes. It may seem harmless but smoke emitted from leaves contributes to air pollution. Also, when there is plastic in the heap, it emits dangerous toxic fumes. Leaves can be converted to fertilizer through composting & plastic can be recycled.

 Adopt 3 Rs - A simple way of contributing to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and making a small difference towards waste disposal is to adopt the 3 Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This means to reduce the consumption of resources, repeated use of items that still have usable aspects and use of waste itself as resources through recycling.

Recommendations

Following recommendations are made to get rid of the problem of solid wastes disposal and their management-

 Storage facilities or dustbins should be easy to handle. Vehicles used for the transfer and transportation of wastes must be covered, not visible to the public. Storage facilities and dustbins should be cleaned on daily basis and should not be overflowed. Broken and damaged dustbins must be repaired or newly constructed and also be provided with a lid over these.

 Disposal should be proper and scientific. Before disposal, the municipal authority must take the labour of separating the wastes accordingly, so that recyclable things can be sent for recycling. To encourage the recycling of materials, some motivation should be given

 Bio-degradable wastes shall be processed by composting, Anaerobic digestion or any other appropriate biological processing for stabilization of wastes. Bio-degradable wastes can be processed at the source only. If the wastes are stored in certain properly constructed pits and suitable microorganisms are mixed, these will become converted into valuable compost.

 Only non-biodegradable and other wastes which are not suitable either for recycling or for biological processing shall be used for landfill. Before landfilling, the wastes should be treated to make it safe for the land and water of the area.

 Incineration must be proper. There will be no chemical pre-treatment before incineration. Chlorinated plastics should not be incinerated.

 Bio-medical wastes should not be mixed with other wastes. The workers engaged in cleaning these bio-medical wastes are ignorant about the waste problem and pollution control. So, it is the duty of the authority concerned to make them aware and skilled through proper training.

Method of solid waste disposal in Sivasagar:

As mentioned earlier, the municipal solid waste dumping site of Sivasagar district is located near Darikapar, Namtial Pathar Sivasagar. This facility site is situated close to a dense demographic area which is on the bank of River Darika Noi, a sacred tributary of the Brahmaputra. This dumping site has no fencing or entry gate despite being en route to National Highways 37. River Darika carries a massive amount of debris load from the Darikapar dumping site to the confluence of Brahmaputra and Dikhow which is a popular tourist destination. This municipal debris contains 80-85% plastic polymers including plastic bags, polystyrene (cups, meat and egg trays, plastic containers) and other hazardous biochemical products. The garbage is being dumped in the area for a few decades and the administration has not taken any step. It has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the odour from the dumped area is torture. As the dumping site is situated near the bank of the Darika river, the site has not only become the cause of the contamination of river water and its natural habitat but is also creating major health issues.

In this regard, the residents have appealed to the district administration to shift the present place of dumping at Darika par to another location, but the district administration has not taken any step yet.

Conclusion

Various steps are taken by the district administration to implement the process of proper waste management. Recently, to implement proper and systematic waste management, the district authority of Sivasagar initiated garbage segregation at the source. The door-to-door collection initiated by the Assam State Livelihood Mission (DAY- NULM) under SMB in association with Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) will be implemented through women SHGs. Although there is a lot more to be done to exploit the full resources from the waste generated in the city, we hope that the district administration and the municipality board will be successful in this aspect.

In Assam, the estimated plastic waste generation is 2410 tonnes/annum (as per the report of 2016). There is a complete ban on plastic carry bags in 14 districts of Assam along with Sivasagar. The provision of explicit pricing of carrying bags is partially implemented. The State Level Advisory Body has recommended that in case of import of substandard plastic carry bags, the information shall be provided to Commissioners of Taxes, Assam. Further, at every district level, a committee shall be formed to monitor and detect cases of violation of PWM Rules, 2016.

As responsible citizens, we can play a very important role in this process. To enhance citizen participation in waste management, we have to present them with smart solutions to simplify the possible actions while benefiting both the waste handler and society. By providing citizen management, authorities can see the requests and complaints arriving from citizens on a single screen. Residents can find and monitor the location of waste containers and deliver orders, requests, and complaints. It would be beneficial to lure citizens away from false waste practices and properly apply the local authorities' rules.