Jowai Garbage Imbroglio: An open letter to India’s Prime Minister

Prominent citizen and president Seinraij Jowai OR Shallam has written an open letter to the Honourable Prime Minister on Monday.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I write to you today as a concerned community member and on behalf of the Residents of Jowai town of West Jaintia Hills District in the state of Meghalaya and most importantly as Indian citizen, to express the deepest concern at how Jowai town are being deprived and discriminated of its rights to have a permanent garbage dumping ground as per scientific methods and how the state government do not seriously take up the matter.

Jowai town which is the headquarter of West Jaintia Hills District in Meghalaya is a land dwelling predominantly by the Pnar tribe locally known as Jaintia. The district with a population of around three lakhs as per 2011 census report. The district is run by the District Administration and the Deputy Commissioner is the Head of the district. The district is under the jurisdiction of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and Jowai town falls under Jowai Municipal Board who deals with the garbage collection and dumping of the same from Jowai town to Mynkjai which is a temporary dumping ground in the past years.

However, since last year, the villages around Mynkjai area have initiated strong opposition to the dumping of garbage from Jowai town by the Jowai Municipal Board alleging the unscientific and unhealthy method of dumping the garbage. The District Administration along with the Jowai Municipal Board since then, have started to look for a temporary dumping ground to dump the garbage from Jowai town, Whenever suitable location was spotted and identified as temporary site for dumping the garbage, there are strong objection and opposition by the local villages that has made the dumping of garbage from Jowai next to impossible.

Mr. Prime Minister Sir, It is to be noted that Jowai town is one amongst many who has been actively participated in the central government ‘Clean India Movement’ all these years and the town usually has a record for maintaining its cleanliness and necessary hygiene in all its household, public spaces and its streets through proper and wide awareness movement by the localities amongst its resident. However, failing of the state government to implement the permanent scientific garbage treatment plan has failed the town in its mission for a Clean India campaign.

Various petitions and suggestions are being sent to the State government by many bodies and even citizens but till date the garbage from Jowai has been left and dumped in its streets for the last three months of which the town wears the look of a dumping ground with tons and tons of many heaps of garbage littering every nook and corner. Every residents household are packed with piles and pile of garbage secreting pungent and irritating odors and smells that has now lead the residents to many deathly health hazards and fatal diseases. The state government however seems to takes no serious measures at all to address the garbage issue the town is currently facing as we speak.

The localities under Jowai town are now enforcing lockdown of all its markets and commercial areas to prevent further dumping of garbage in the streets and most of all to oppose the government for its unresponsive nature and inaction to provide the town with permanent garbage scientific treatment plan. The residents have lost faith on the state government and have experiences the bitter discrimination by the State government who has failed to strongly and seriously address this disastrous issue.

In view of the urgency and seriousness of the issue, I the undersigned on behalf of the residents of Jowai town most humbly pray for your kind intervention and address the tragic issues faced by Jowai town and to rescue us from the garbage endemic and deliver justice and equity to the town in the truest meaning of democracy.

Regards,
Shri. O.R Shallam
Jowai, Meghalaya.