Even as the State Government is trying to grapple with a whole set of problems ranging from the acute financial crisis to the volatile law and order situation and even as the National Highways imbroglio have caught the attention of the public and a large number of voluntary organisations, we cannot help but notice another equally disturbing 
development that needs the immediate attention of not only the Government but also the public and other voluntary organisations. 

Just look across Imphal city and its surrounding areas and the picture will become clear. The air is polluted, the river waters are fouled and the land is slowly being poisoned. With the burgeoning population coupled with the absence of any plans to work out suitable sites for the urban wastes to be dumped, Nambul river which flows through the capital city has become the perfect dumping ground. Polluting Nambul means we pollute the Loktak lake which plays no mean role in maintaining the ecology of the land. 

With the increasing number of vehicles and a Government that has not placed any importance on checking the noxious fumes emitted by these vehicles the very air we breathe now comes with a price attached to it. Over and above this, the indiscriminate use of pesticides and insecticides in our agricultural fields and we have the perfect recipe of feeding poison to our population. 

The land, the air, the river ways are our natural resources but somewhere down the line we have turned blind to what is use and what is abuse. In our mad rush to get the benefits of the modern age, we forgot to strike the balance and the picture facing us today is the failure of successive Governments to read the writings on the wall and take up appropriate steps. Plastics and polythene bags continue to assault the environment of the land and we wonder what has happened to the much hyped ban on use of plastic bags.

Much like other Government plans the ban on use of plastics has not been implemented properly. Down the years a number of voluntary organisations have earned notoriety or fame, which ever way one looks at it, of imposing bans and bandhs and it is a little surprising that none of these organisations have come forward to impose a ban on the use of plastics and polythene bags, that is threatening the very existence of the Manipuri people. 

Ukhrul and Senapati have already gone ahead and imposed a ban on the use of plastics. Who should be held responsible for damning our environment ? Our elected representatives are either ignorant of the pollution laws or are content with just paying lip service to environmental causes, especially during election time. Ditto too for our Government officials to whom protecting the environment is an alien concept. 

We shudder to think of the cost that would be entailed just to undo the damages of environmental pollution. It is not only laws that we need to check the menace of pollution but also a firm resolve. And to do this we have to stop passing the buck, for which our political class and the officialdom have earned notoriety. Each one of us, as individuals can contribute our mite in saving the environment of the land. Remember we have as much right and obligation towards our land and air. It is only when we strike a balance between our rights and obligations, will the land as a whole prosper. And of course we also owe it to our children to ensure that they inherit a place fit for human habitation. 

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)