Guwahati, May 17: Senior journalist and researcher on environment and development issues, Keya Acharya expressed concern over the state of environment across the country and said that Bengaluru can be an example of environmental mismanagement for states in northeast India, which still have comparatively less pollutants.
Keya said this while interacting with journalists in Guwahati Press Club today through video conferencing and said that fifty four percent of India has become water stressed now.
“While cities like Bengaluru are already suffering due to environmental degradation, states in India’s northeast could definitely learn not to follow examples from states like Karnataka,” she said while stressing that rain water harvesting should be made mandatory in all growing cities while initiating new constructions.
“Rain water should be considered as a resource and used as a resource as well. This is more relevant for states in the northeast India which receive more rainfall,” she said adding that the government should also lay more stress on garbage disposal system.
“The garbage disposal system in Bengaluru has affected the water bodies negatively triggering series of environmental problems. The stress should be on segregation of waste so that agencies could pick them up and dispose properly,” she said.
The senior journalist also expressed of concern over the lack of political and public awareness will to address the environmental problems in India and said that she had not come across a single speech during the current elections which is focused on environment. Most political parties had some environmental issues included in their manifestos but there were superficially addressed.
She also expressed concern over the media’s role to highlight environmental issues. She added that the influence of media editors had diminished, which had impacted the quality of news. Keya said that the editorial space in media has been encroached by interests of the owners, which has also led to diminishing of space for people centric issues like environment.
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Yet another IED was found at Goreswar Gasbari area on Thursday morning. The IED was planted by suspected anti-talk faction group of National Democratic Front of Bodoland near a culvert of Baihata-Goreswar road. Investigation is gong on. ULFA and NDFB are among ten outfits who have called a general strike on Jan 26 and urged people to boycott the Republic Day celebrations.
A powerful Improvised Explosive Devices was recovered ahead of the Republic Day celebrations in Darrang district on Thursday.The bomb was found near the Mangaldoi police station and Republic Day parade ground in the morning. Police suspected it a handiwork of ULFA for triggering explosion targeting security forces. Later army bomb squad team defused the bomb.
Guwahati Police have arrested 8 persons including a Mizoram forest department official and recovered some rare species of snake in Guwahati. These persons were arrested on Monday night from a building in Mathuranagar area in the city.A tortoise has also been seized from their possession on Wednesday midnight. Later they has been taken to the Dispur police station.
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Security forces are spreading tentacles along the Assam-Meghalaya border against ULFA and GNLA who are preparing to launch dangerous offensive during the Republic Day.Two suspected hardcore GNLA were killed at an encounter with army and police in Goalpara district on Tuesday. Security forces launched a major offensive against militants at Khardang bordering Meghalaya. The heavy exchange of firing took place when three youths attacked the security forces. In retaliated firing, two militants were killed on the spot and another managed to escape from the spot. Police further claimed to have recovered two 7.65 MM pistols along with four rounds of live bullets from the spot.
ULFA’s anti talk faction on Tuesday claimed the responsibility of the attack at a police station in Sonari where a policeman was injured and several vehicles have been damaged on Monday midnight.In a statement ULFA’s publicity wing said that it was launched to retaliate the killing of the innocent youth in Tinsukia district in the name of encounter with ULFA. Policemen Lila Chetia was later shifted to hospital and his condition is stable. Security forces rushed to the spot and a combing operation is going on. But the militants are believed to have left for the neighbouring Nagaland.
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