Assam Begins Initiative to Keep Towns 'Clean' and 'Garbage Free'

Guwahati, July 13, 2019:

Amid fervent appeals from environmentalists to salvage the decaying environment, the Assam Government and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) have finally taken a step in the right direction.

In a notification issued on July 12, the GMC has  mentioned that all institutions and commercial establishments need to maintain two sets of dustbins including a blue one (for dry waste like paper, bottle, plastics, etc) and a green one (for wet waste like leftover food, vegetables etc).

Minister Pijush Hazarika also informed about the 'clean and green' initiative of the Government via social media. He wrote: "We have started door to door garbage collection under Swatchh Bharat Mission(Urban).I urge all the people to cooperate with us.Thanks to the Municipal Board Chairpersons,EOs,CPOs,all the Municipal board employees,NGOs and SHGs for their great effort.Hope this would be carried on to make the towns clean and garbage free."

But will it be enough to save the 'Deepor Beel'? Wetlands like the 'Beel' are important as they act as a natural storage of excess rainfall and reducing flooding. Wetlands are repositories of diversity, ecology and livelihood support system of local people.

Wetlands are one of the world’s most important environmental assets, containing a disproportionately high number of plant and animal species compared to other areas of the world. Throughout history, they have been integral to human survival and development. However, the 'Deepor Beel' in Assam is facing numerous threats due to a number of reasons.

Presently, several species of birds and water body species at Deepor Beel are facing an endangered environment. While the water body is contaminated with harmful materials/chemicals, the GMC is using an area at Boragaon to dump waste since over a decade.

Moreover, the ongoing encroachment around the Beel may in due course wipe the water body from the existing map it is feared.As per a forest department source, dumping of municipal waste continued in the vicinity of the water body puts the Ramsar Site wetland under ecological threat.

Inside Northeast’s Campaign #LetsSaveDeeporBeel is now supported by Oil India Limited (OIL). Join us as we continue the awareness campaign to preserve the only Ramsar site in Assam which is facing immense threats (A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention). We need your help to preserve this site of great ecological importance. Join the #LetsSaveDeeporBeel campaign and tweet about it, and do tag us on Twitter. Let’s make some noise!