With the growing urban population in Dimapur and Kohima, the issue of public health and hygiene has become a major concern as authorities struggle to find consistent ways to dispose off garbage. In this image are garbage strewn all around a ‘disposal area’ in Chandmari Colony.
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Garbage Abounds, Sanitation Eludes
Emilo Khuvung
Morung Express News
Kohima | June 14
It is a fact that the Naga society within the past few decades has witnessed development on the socio-economic front. The most interesting feature is the rapid urbanization of district headquarters with more and more people from villages migrating to the former. However, due to unplanned townships, lack of space for human habitats and garbage from the human population, it is a common sight to see garbage strewn on the streets, clogged drainage systems and rain bringing with it offensive smell from septic tanks and garbage.
The monsoon season is a curse for pedestrians; floating sewage and foul smell becoming a daily affair especially for Kohima citizens. Although many think it is the duty of the municipal or town committees to keep the town clean and tidy, it is seen that doing so is not the work of the local bodies but the responsibility of each and every member of the society.
Just take this for instance, Kohima with a population of about 3, 14,000 (2001 census) living in 39 colonies and 19 wards have only seven trucks to keep the city clean. One can imagine the waste being discharged by the huge population. Kohima Municipal Council’s administrator (who is also the ADC of Kohima) Alun Hansing said the seven trucks run twice – once in the morning and another in the evening in and around the town with the huge responsibility of keeping the town clean.
Compounded with this, the KMC administrator lamented that the Rs 2 lakhs which the KMC receives as grant-in-aid from the state government is insufficient.
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Similar opinion was aired by the ADC and administrator of Wokha Town Council, Ethel Odyuo who lamented that the functioning of the office is hampered due to lack of facilities. She said that improper drainage system and fewer vehicles (trucks) have been a major hindrance. “We have only one truck and to cover 15 wards and 28 colonies is not an easy task to keep the town clean” said Odyuo. She also said that there are no regular funds for development while the revenue collected hardly matter to address development.
Also, Mokokchung Municipal Council is said to be in the best position to keep the town clean and Green. MMC inspector, Tia Kichuchzar said the MMC has four trucks where two trucks are used daily to empty the garbage dumps while the other two are for disposal of cesspits. Kichuchzar said the MMC purchased a plot for garbage and cesspits disposal, to spare the citizens any inconvenience. Kichuchzar joyfully said that 50 percent of current funds are used for cleaning and the other half for development.
In the context of acute shortage of manpower and tillers, Zunheboto is not far from Wokha as far as sanitation is concerned. Zunheboto Town Council Chief Advisor Huska Yepthomi said ZTC carries out sanitation drives with the help of the PHED. The lack of awareness campaigns is also another reason behind the poor sanitation, he said. Absence of sanitation is another factor responsible for spreading diseases easily. For instance, 'flying toilets' typically end up clogging and polluting drainage channels. Nagaland is popularly known for its natural beauty, rich flora and fauna, yet unless every individual put an effort, government, PHED, Municipal and town councils are not the only one to be blamed.
Citizens said sanitation is not only the responsibility of the municipal or the town committees’ but of each and every member of the society to keep their towns clean and healthy.
“The town cannot be clean unless we know and understand that throwing garbage in the streets or in the neighborhood is bad for health,” said Along, senior citizen of Mokokchung, “Sanitation starts from the individual, from the families, otherwise though we may bring in the best trucks and the most efficient scavengers, still the towns would not be clean.”
As the government focuses more on the tourism sector and with more tourists coming into the state, and with the growing consciousness among the people about the need to keep healthy lifestyles, it is time for the people to once again give a serious thought to the aspects of sanitation. After all, “cleanliness is next to goodliness".
