- IMPHAL — Residents
of Ithai area in Manipur’s Bishnupur district marked World Environment Day by
cleaning up massive piles of single-use plastic bottles accumulated at the
Ithai Barrage gates, carried there by rivers flowing through Loktak Lake.
- The day’s observation aimed to raise global awareness about
the harmful effects of plastic waste on ecosystems, wildlife, and human health.
Residents of Ithai area during a cleanup drive of plastic
waste at the Ithai Barrage gates.
- The clean-up drive was organised by Ithai Youth Club (IYC)
and Ithai Nupicha Association, a women body of the Ithai areas, located about
60 km south of Imphal, in collaboration with B/32 battalion CRPF under the
initiative of Directorate of Environment and Climate Change.
- The Ithai barrage, part of the Loktak Hydroelectric Project,
regulates water levels in Loktak Lake by impounding the Manipur River,
downstream from the Imphal and Khuga rivers' confluence.
- Speaking on the occasion, Ningthoujam Mangijao, a resident
of Ithai village and general secretary of IYC said, “I never seen such a huge
quantity of plastic bottles at Ithai in my lifetime. Now we will be cleaning
it. So we are seeking help and cooperation from all sections.”
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- Like Mangijao, most of the residents of Ithai village, where
the popular Ithai Barrage is located, also expressed their desire for proper
disposal of the plastic bottles after being collected from the Ithai Barrage
sites.
