Nagaland: Public apathy towards waste management a challenge

Our Reporter
Dimapur, April 3 (EMN): The mission to keep Dimapur clean and sustainable is not without roadblocks as lack of public support and cooperation continue to hinder its success.

‘The shops in the main town area particularly along Nyamo Lotha road and the private households residing in that area contribute maximum garbage, while residents along Kalibari road also dispose of waste recklessly. The reckless dumping of waste by shopkeepers at the end of the day is another menace’, a former judge of Dimapur Municipal Council’s (DMC)cleanest colony competition revealed to Eastern Mirror.

There are dustbins placed in most of the shops but most of them are not utilised as shopkeepers, at the end of the day, dump the garbage in front of their shops.

The reason behind dumping of litter is their reliance on DMC workers, who collect the garbage around Dimapur every morning, a shopkeeper acknowledged.

Several NGOs have also placed public dustbins around the city, which are either not made use by the public and shopkeepers or are stolen by miscreants.

Moreover, the indifferent attitude of citizens towards practicing proper disposal and segregation of domestic waste continue to defeat the DMC’s effort to keep the city clean.

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Despite this, some localities in Dimapur -- Riverbelt colony, Niu colony Burma Camp, Kevijau colony, Zeliangrong colony, and Imkonglenden colony -- maintain consistency in cleanliness. These colonies have been receiving the “cleanest colony” award initiated by the Dimapur Municipal Council since its inception. The competition was introduced to involve community participation in keeping the city clean.

However, there are also some localities like Oriental colony, Netaji colony, Walford, Railway area and Sunrise colony in Burma Camp that continue to be under the radar of poor waste management. Meanwhile, during the monsoon season when there is an upsurge of malaria and dengue fever, Sunrise colony, Chatteshwari colony, and Railway colony areas require maximum fogging to sanitise the area.

How ‘cleanest colonies’ contribute in waste management

Imkonglenden colony, which was awarded the cleanest colony for three years by the DMC, has been dutifully keeping its neighbourhood clean.

Former chairman of the colony Supong Jamir told Eastern Mirror that during the council general meetings, cleanliness of the neighbourhood is one of the agenda that the council and the residents sincerely adhere to.

The judgment for the cleanest colony is based on garbage management, drainage management, stagnant water, road maintenance, sanitation, and colony community participation.

While acknowledging that the colony started keeping its locality clean only after the introduction of the cleanest colony competition, the former chairman asserted that now the practice has become routine for them irrespective of the competition, and every household has instilled this practice.

“Prior to the introduction of the competition we were not fully involved in sanitation and would organise social work for cleaning not very often”, he acknowledged.

The practice of keeping the neighbourhood clean is because of the cooperation from the residents and the colony also dutifully pays the sanitation tax. The colony, which has around 500 households, ensures that no garbage from the house is dumped or kept on the roadside, Jamir said.

The former chairman also suggested that locally made dustbin with bamboo as garbage support was not practical. Some of the colonies have such dustbins in their localities but this may not be feasible if not maintained daily, he opined.

Jamir pointed out that cooperation from the public is essential to ensure sanitation in the town and treat it as their own home, which he said, was ‘missing in the Naga society’.

Irrespective of the competition, everyone should have the sense of responsibility and maintain hygiene for a healthy society, said Jamir.

Kevijau colony, which has around 1800 households, had also been awarded the cleanest colony in 2019, the colony chairman Nokchi Jamir told this newspaper. He said the drainage and potholes in front of one’s residence is maintained by the respective owners, unless the maintenance is large which is taken care of by the council.

“We do not allow the residents to burn their garbage as it is not healthy. Also the DMC sanitation team collects the garbage every morning. The council also checks on the drains for any litter and ensures that no litter is thrown or dumped in the drain”, he said.

“It is a collective effort and we ensure that everyone keeps the neighbourhood clean. Without the joint effort and cooperation, achieving a clean environment is not possible. Each and every individual has equal responsibility towards maintaining a cleaner environment”, he opined.