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ENVIRONMENT |
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ENVIRONMENT |
On Dangerous Ground Armed with growing
awareness, communities are rising up against pollution By AKSHAY SHARMA Praladh Gautam, a prominent lawyer in the
southern Nepalese town of Kalaiya, in Bara district, recently filed a case in court
seeking the removal of three movie halls adjoining his residential area which he
complained were creating noise pollution. After driving to Hetauda several times to attend
the court hearings, Gautam got what he wanted. The court decided to bar the halls from
operating within the residential area. The town of Amlekhgunj, meanwhile, was at
the center of another anti-pollution drive. A signature campaign was launched as part of
efforts to destroy poisonous substances stocked at the godowns in the town.
The toxins, stored in large
quantities, have been negatively affecting the local populace, flora, fauna, and the
environment as a whole. The campaign was launched on World Environment Day with the theme
"Give earth a chance, remove the poisons of Amlekhgunj". "After the signatures of 10,000
environmental enthusiasts are collected, they will be handed over to Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur Deuba," said campaigner Anju Shrestha, who heads the local Awareness
Promotion Forum. About 50 metric tons of toxic substances,
including DDT imported from various countries to eradicate malaria and to control pests,
have been stored at Amlekhgunj, it is learnt from Agriculture Inputs Corporation. Experts
say the toxins stocked there can cause brain tumor and cancer and have a negative effect
on fertility and reproduction. Seventeen years ago, expired poisonous
substances were buried at the forest at Adabhar as part of the disposal process. But the
negative impact on the flora, fauna and human beings became apparent soon. The substances
were taken out of the pits and stored at the warehouses. An attempt was made to destroy the toxins
by burning them at the boiler of the Hetauda Cement Factory. "But it was feared that
the fumes emanating from burning poisonous substances would affect the health of the
people," says Bharat Bahadur Ghale, chairman of Amlekhgunj Village Development
Committee. "Then the people would raise strong voices against the disposal procedure
and even take to the streets. That's why they could not be burnt," he says. The government, meanwhile, has drawn up a
disposal plan at the initiative of the international environmental group Greenpeace. Of
the 74 metric tons of toxins stocked in Nepal, 14.47 tons is at Nepalgunj, 3.71 tons at
Khumaltar of Lalitpur district and 3.71 metric tons at the Cotton Development Board. The people have started taking stronger
interest in ridding their surroundings of pollution and related problems. The magnitude of
the problem has not yet been fully grasped, but it is clear that time is running out. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
