Dumping of garbage has polluted the natural wetland in Pandu. Picture by Eastern Projections

Sept. 1: The residents of Pandu want NF Railway to shift its garbage dump from the area as the litter vitiates the atmosphere and pollutes a natural water body adjacent to the dumping site.

The residents said truckloads of waste were dumped in an open area under municipal ward three. As a result, heaps of garbage had piled up, making the area a breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and pests.

Former deputy mayor of Guwahati Municipal Corporation and a resident of the locality, Kamal Dey, said the residents planned to block garbage trucks to protest against the dumping of bio-medical and other waste in their area.

“We will also move the Pollution Control Board Assam to direct the railways to shift the dumping site as it has become detrimental to our health and environment,” he added.

Continuous dumping of garbage in the area during the past year has polluted the natural wetland adjacent to the dumping site and led to the death of fishes in the water body.

“Earlier, migratory birds used to be come to the wetland during winter. But because of the rise in pollution level, the birds now avoid the wetland,” Dey said.

“We have been asking the NF Railway authorities to shift the dumping site. But nothing has come of it so far. The area is overflowing with waste and the recent rain has aggravated the problem,” the president of Joymoti Nagar Development Committee, L.M. Sutradhar, said.

He said the railways should shift the dumping site outside the municipal area and away from human habitation.

The residents said after contractors, engaged by the railways for garbage cleaning, started dumping wastes at the present site, the colour of water of the wetland had turned black as untreated sewage was flowing into it.

Arun Kanti Bhattacharjee, the headmaster of Vidya Niketan High School which is located about half-a-kilometer from the dumping site, said as no pollution control measure had been taken, foul smell emanated from the garbage dump making life miserable for the people living in the proximity.

“We fear that an epidemic like diarrhoea might break out in the area because of the unhygienic condition,” he added.

The residents suggested that instead of dumping garbage in an area surrounded by residential localities, the NF Railway should tie up with the GMC for disposing garbage at the corporation’s dumping site in Paschim Boragaon.

An NF Railway spokesperson said he was not aware of the matter and would check it up with officials dealing with disposal of waste.

“I can only say that the NF Railway will definitely look into the matter,” he added.