HT CorrespondentSIVASAGAR, Sept 8: Sivasagar Municipality Board (SMB) in association with Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA), Sivasagar observed the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies through a meeting on Wednesday where causes of air pollution and their remedial measures were discussed. Swagata S. Goswami, executive officer, SMB, began the discussion with the historical perspective of air and water pollution since the Industrial Revolution.
Participating in the discussion, Rajani Changkakoti, president of Sivasagar Senior Citizens’ Forum spoke about the causes of pollution in Sivasagar. Kartick Dutta, Jagat Gogoi, Rajen Buragohain, Pradip Bhunya, Atul Nath, Samsul Barik, Manoj Kr Borthakur, and Pranjal Das in their speech highlighted the endemic problems of pollution in the SMB and also suggested a few measures. The speakers laid stress on the segregation of the garbage, putting the dry garbage in incinerators, and the rest recycled for manure and agricultural purposes. They urged the PCBA and SMB to take emergency measures to relieve hundreds of students of Sankardev Sishu Vidya Niketan from the noxious polluted air caused by the cow shed put up by a neighbour. They also suggested investing part of the annual budget in the installation of incinerators for the disposal of garbage. They urged the SMB to take action against the earth carrying trucks, brick kilns, and unscrupulous persons that burn garbage.
Mrinali Konwar, chairperson, SMB, called for the taxpayers help in solving the problems and added that the SMB has been consistently striving hard to solve all the civic problems and added that the administration has already allocated land for new dumping sites in Rajmai, and Kalugaon. PCBC officials explained the nature of air pollution and that Sivasagar has earned a dubious distinction of being included in the list of most polluted 132 cities and towns in India.
