Hailakandi Municipal Board Organised Cleanup Operation of Dhaleswari River

A Correspondent

Hailakandi: In a bid to make Hailakandi a plastic-free district, the Hailakandi Municipal Board and the district administration organised a cleanup operation of Dhaleswari river.

Inaugurating the cleanup operation at Gandhi Ghat on Monday, Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli urged the students and NGOs to work with full vigour and enthusiasm to free Dhaleswari river from plastic waste pollution to avoid flooding. Jalli said this initiative is part of its efforts to make Hailakandi district free from single-use plastic that has been banned in the district in August this year.

The Deputy Commissioner distributed cleaning equipment to the participants in the programme. Executive Officer, Hailakandi Municipal Board, Prodip Timung said the event held under the ongoing Swachhta Hi Sewa programme aims to clear the clogged portions of Dhaleswari river by fishing out the plastic waste with the help of students of schools and colleges and NGOs.

A grand prize money plastic fishing competition was organized in which groups of students from schools and colleges and NGOs participated. The winners were awarded cash prizes of Rs 3,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 on the quality of plastic collected that has to be minimum 5 kg. For long four hours the groups of students and NGOs went around the river banks and collected plastic waste in containers.

Under the ongoing Swachhta Hi Sewa, the district administration, the police administration, the Hailakandi Municipal Board, Public Health Engineering and other concerned departments have taken up a host of programmes to make Hailakandi clean and beautiful. The campaign that is going on from September 11 will continue till October 27.

“We have plans to expand the drive once more people join us. The clean-up drive at Gandhi Ghat is just the beginning and bigger things are coming. It is in our capable hands to make this change,” said Executive Officer, Hailakandi Municipal Board, Prodip Timung.

According to Ashish Paul, a member who has joined the cleanliness drive, it is very important for people to come forward and do their bit for the environment.

“It really saddens me to see the conditions of our rivers. People have mistaken our water bodies as garbage dumping areas,” Paul lamented. “With the groundwater depletion in various parts of the country, keeping our rivers clean is the need of the hour and people should start taking it seriously before it is too late,” said Anupom Das, another member, adding that his only appeal to people is not to throw any garbage into the river.

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