SAPTANA POLLUTION IN FALAKATA: AN ALARM BELL RINGING

Arunangshu Maitra

Due to the non presence of the dumping ground in Falakata, the pollution related to garbage is increasing every day. Along with this, illegal rearing of pigs in the town alongside the river Mujhnai, river Saptana and River Jampui has also led to river pollution. Not only this due to the continuous dumping of waste materials in those rivers, the river base is also raising creating blockage in the river flow. The most dangerous output is that the rivers are getting dried up due to the pollution creating vacant land. These lands are then illegally sold by the land mafias. Last but not the least is that the Falakatians are now seeing big houses built on river beds. Though there might not be any type of organized protest however, the dwellers of the town feel that the administration has not taken lesson from the Karala fiasco of Jalpaiguri.

They fear Falakata may face the same situation when in one fine morning people may see dead fishes floating on the Mujhnai, Saptana rivers. According to Dr. Prabir Roy Choudhury, a n environmental activist of Falakata, there are no proper sanitation and drainage systems to wean away the daily garbage of the town. Moreover, the most affected is the Saptana River, which is facing its bank theft. Now concrete houses are built adjacent to the river blocking its natural flow. The non systematic dumping policy is giving rise to the various viral fevers in the town. The same viewpoint has been expressed by another social activist of Falakata i.e. Mr. Sabyasachi Ghosh. According to him the town is growing but is lacking of any systematic pattern. Once the fishermen used to earn their living from fishing in Saptana River but now it’s unthinkable. Instead of water, the waste water is flowing in the river.

Photos: Arunangsu Maitra (TNI)