DOIMUKH, Nov 12: ‘Dikrong River Clean-up’ drive was carried out near the weekly Saturday market here on Tuesday, participated by around 500 volunteers carrying jute trash bags and collecting garbage.
Hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi University Research Scholars’ Forum and Youth Mission for Clean River, the river clean-up saw participation from the students of RGU, NERIST, Venkateshwara Open University, local people and volunteers from Saturday Market Group and Doimukh Market Committee. 
Briefing about the purpose of the event, RGU’s Social Work Department’s Assistant Professor John Gangmei said the idea of the event is not to work ‘for’ but ‘together’ with the community so that cleaning becomes a habit and not a one-day stunt.  He said the duty of protecting the river does not lie on the government alone and it is the essential duty of the market committee, shopkeepers, daily wage earners, picnickers, students, civil organizations and various other stakeholders to weekly or monthly organize such clean drives. 
YMCR Chairman SD Loda applauding the huge turn up that came to clean the river, shared that when he first started the movement in 2017  he did not think that it would get such popularity and mass participation. He appealed the people of the state to realize the baneful effects of vanishing of rivers and take up voluntary initiatives to protect them.
Saturday Market proprietor Nabam Tade thanked the volunteers who took the concern to clean the trash and expressed government apathy over no fund provision to construct protection walls along the river banks. 
Doimukh Market Committee General Secretary, Naga Taha said the river is not only polluted due to polythene or garbage dumping but also due to earth cutting as well. 
RGURSF General Secretary Prem Taba said that one of the prime objectives of the mass drive is to realize the importance of the river and avoid dumping near it or into it.He informed that a week before the clean-up, door-to-door campaigns were conducted in Doimukh inviting people residing nearby to help clean the litter from the riverside. 
RGURSF Co-convenor Yura Bathey mentioned that government should also think about constructing waste treatment plants to meet the amount of garbage that are produced and collected every day.
The collected garbage of about two trucks was handed over to the Urban Development and Housing Department, Yupia with the call for discouraging Single Use Plastic. The event was organized by RGURSF and YMCR supported by DMC, NRSA, RGUSU, SUN, Renu Beverage and VoU. RGU PR

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
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