Relentless opposition by locals to accepting a landfill in their backyard is contributing to the awful sight of garbage being piled high in the streets of Jowai but the state government is doing its utmost to try and find a new site for a garbage dump.
According to Jowai MLA Wailadmiki Shylla, the opposition arises because villagers believe that the landfill will be used solely to clear up the mess for the people of Jowai.
“These people don’t realise that this waste is also from markets and other areas, which means that people from outside Jowai equally contribute to the waste accumulating in the town,” Shylla said today.
Various sites have been proposed and then abandoned because of this opposition. Because of this, Shylla does not want to disclose the name of potential sites any longer.
Awareness programmes have been carried out to educate the people on the need for landfills and how the government will try to manage pollution and health concerns but to no avail.
Jowai’s main market at Iawmusiang is routinely plagued by piles of garbage. The Jowai Municipal Board (JMB) stopped collecting waste after people in Mynkjai protested against the dumping of garbage in the area around the village, complaining about the impact it has on the environment and the health of the residents.
