Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 30
The recent surge of rainfall in Dimapur has exposed the city’s poor architectural planning and people’s genuine lack of civic sense. With just a few hours of rain, there was flooding in many parts of the city while there were reports of walls collapsing. Main roads and busy market areas were clogged with garbage causing much of the rainwater to remain on the road.
Not only is the city’s haphazard construction a major drawback, the havoc created following the rainfall indicates that the slightest of civic sense still eludes the majority of citizens. And this has added to the civic body’s woes as it tries to handle the problem of waste around the city.
The problem of clogged drain is one of the biggest problems the city is facing today. It prevents water from flowing into its outsource. Non-biodegradable wastes, paper, food and all sorts of useless items have made their way into city’s drainage system causing water-logging at the slightest drizzle. Narrow drains inside colony by-lanes are clogged with waste and the water remains stagnant as most drains don’t have a tilt. The habit of throwing junk on the roadsides, non-usage of dustbins and non-segregation of solid waste inside homes has aggravated the problem in many ways for the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC). It is common to sight most garbage outside the DMC dustbin rather than inside.
The DMC currently has twelve trucks which pick up garbage every morning from the allotted dustbins and roadsides. However, the number is insufficient to shovel out the entire city’s garbage. The DMC’s inability to obtain solid waste management machinery is perhaps a very big disadvantage in managing the city’s waste as it continues to mount everyday. Dimapur is also growing by leaps and bounds and everyday new structures are coming up. Designs without planning and people’s refusal to part with an inch of their land for drainage especially within the city’s main quarters add to the problems.
The DMC feels the need to provide the best civic facilities to the people. However, it comes short as many citizens refuse to pay their sanitation tax of Rs.10 per month. The need for citizens to be more aware about their civic duties will lessen the burden of the municipal council which, in return, can offer better facilities to people, the DMC observes. The problem of flooding and waterlogging can be addressed if only citizens put in a little extra effort, DMC says. It also feels that the only way the city can prevent future disasters due to rains is for people to stop encroaching on drainage systems especially inside colonies. Land reforms and awareness is the two single largest areas of focus for the DMC in order to relieve Dimapur of monsoon misery in future.
