GUWAHATI: Guwahati city produces around 550 tonnes of garbage per day. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today defending the dumping of waste in Chandrapur said that children in Guwahati will start falling sick within a week if the wastes are not disposed of. Sarma said that if the people of Guwahati don’t pick the litter, the city will be finished with diseases. The government is dumping waste in Chandrapur as there is ‘no other option.’
“At the same time, we are trying to find an alternate dumping ground. But if we do not find an alternative and Chandrapur locals do not allow us either, Guwahati will report instances of Japanese Encephalitis, malaria, diarrhea, and children will begin dying within 7 days,” Himanta said.
Asked about the problem faced by the locals of Chandrapur, Biswa Sarma fired back: “Who will you support? If there is a conflict between Guwahati and Chandrapur — who will you support? If we do not dispose of wastes – if children die, will the people of Chandrapur be happy?”
Himanta assured that to the people of Chandrapur that efforts are underway to find an alternate dumping location. Residents of the area have started staging protests since June 26 against shifting the dumping site to Chandrapur from West Boragaon.
Following the intervention of the Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA), however, the dumping of garbage at the site has been “temporarily” stopped since August 5.
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