Itanagar: In celebration of World Forest Day, more than 80 volunteers on Tuesday came together to clean the Yagamso river at Indira Gandhi Park here, scooping up nearly four trucks of garbage.
The cleaning drive was initiated by NGOs – Abralow Memorial Multipurpose Society and Youth Mission for Clean River – in association with Arunachal Dogs & Cats Rescue and Arunachal Yuva Shakti, and supported by the Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Limited.
The waste collected during the drive included diapers and sanitary disposables, meat, household mixed waste, construction waste, thermocol, broken crockery, dead animals, and electronic items.
Mission Clean Yagamso coordinator, Prem Taba, informed that the waste was picked up by hired vehicles and transferred to the actual dumpyard at Hollongi.
According to Taba, plastic waste, in particular, is harmful to the ecology and directly pollutes the Senki River, which is a lifeline for the capital city.
Despite repeated appeals by the NGOs and a door-to-door campaign to prevent waste dumping, people continue to treat the river like a sewer and throw waste into it.
“This uncontrolled and unchecked dumping into Yagamso is harmful to the ecology and directly pollutes Senki River which is a lifeline for the capital city,” Taba said.
The underground water is also getting polluted, and its level is lowering due to the dumping of waste, he said.
This year’s World Forest Day, with the theme “Forests and Health,” encourages giving rather than taking because healthy forests lead to healthy people.
The mission coordinator urged the public to consider our waterways and care for them as healthy forests are essential for one’s overall health and well-being.
