And whenever we talk about World Environment Day or Environment, few very common terminologies like, Deforestation, Pollution, Global warming and Climate Change etc strike our mind. Here later two are the consequences of first two, which slowly but visibly are making negative impacts on the biological as well as physical environment that we are a part of. The whole world is worried about mother earth and World Environment Day is a response to that worry.

Our region being mostly covered under Tea Gardens, Chincona Garden and Government Forest Area hasn’t much seen Rampant Deforestration. Though mono-culture is environmentally hazardous too, however it is perhaps of these plantations, we have enough green cover still intact. In addition thanks to the tree plantation work done by Govt, NGOs, and nature lovers, our green cover has continued to remain positive.

However when it comes about Pollution, we do have greater issues.

Air Pollution: We haven’t experienced much of Air Pollution (comparatively to many other cities), thanks to physiographic and green surroundings.

But when it comes about Water and Land, pollution level is indeed worrisome. In fact, many of our rivers and water bodies are dying. Rampant Hydro Power project dams (Read as a case of over exploitation of resources) and so called “Development” around our water bodies is murderous. And sadly we have been just a mute spectator to the rampant exploitation of our environmental resources.

To add to the murderous development activities of our rivers, we are also contributing towards the death of hills with uncontrolled solid waste generation and unscientific disposal.

Land pollution or Solid waste- our region is slowly and steadily competing with the rest. Human life is impossible without the uses of various natural and man-made materials. May it be in domestic sector, agriculture, commercial or industrial sectors, we produce huge amount of solid waste regularly. And with the lack of proper management of these wastes, we have been polluting our farming land, water resources, creating disasters (drainage blockage, landslides), disease hazards etc.

GTA region doesn’t have much of manufacturing industries; hence the major source of Pollution can be taken as domestic and commercial centers (markets). Good population score with Good flow of tourist, Towns and Bazar areas in GTA regions are increasingly suffering from garbage pollution. Solid Waste management – Collection, deposition and disposal of solid waste in proper way is demand as well as need of the time. And this need isn’t confined within the urban centers, but in rural areas too.

Though there were many cleanliness drives and activities going on, but in recent, campaign of Swachh Bharat by PM Narendra Modi has brought greater surge in such activities. Beside Policy criteria of Cleanliness for the grants to Developing Smart cities by Government has also made authorities and denizens to be little aware and wary about. However our towns are still very far in cleanliness ranking. And that can be felt in ground too.

What can be done?

Whenever we talk about Environment and pollution and as mitigating measures we draw 3Rs – Reuse, Recycling and Reduction of use. But what I think is before we get to those 3R , we need our self to be 2R – Rational and Responsible.

First of all we must be rational and responsible enough to be Aware, Practice and Preach about solid waste management. Simple practice of not littering own surrounding (wherever we are) will do a lot. (I am not writing ‘Use dustbin’, as it may not be available everywhere and that doesn’t mean we throw our unwanted stuff anywhere)

Solid waste can be broadly classified into 2 categories Biodegradable (Kuhiney) and Non-Biodegradable (Nakuhiney). Biodegradable waste gets broken down in short span of time (few weeks to months) and are not much hazardous. Whereas Non-biodegradable waste doesn’t break down easily and persist in the environment causing many hazards.

As the disposal process and time of these two different types of solid wastes is totally different, it is advisable to deal with these two types of waste separately.

If we will be able to practice the collection of wastage (at domestic or commercial sectors) separately as Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable half of the work towards proper solid management will be done. Though this may sound difficult to practice, but it is rather very easy and can be easily implemented.

What we need is Rational and responsible mindset and culture. It is all about developing a culture. It will take time but it can be done. In fact many of the Tea Garden Management have been practicing this separate collection of garbage.

Biodegradable wastes can be converted into fertilizer through composting process. And can help us in developing organic manure. Financial benefits too, by marketing the organic manure.

However, the practice must be done far from human settlement and drinking water sources, as the breaking down of biodegradable substances create foul odour and can pollute our drinking water.

Non-Biodegradable solid waste can be well managed by 3R formula

Reduction of use: As we don’t have any better facilities available for the disposal of non-biodegradable waste, it becomes our responsibility to limit or reduce the production of such waste. Or simply reduce the use. For example: Plastic bags, bottles are Non-degradable, so either don’t use or reduce the use.

Reuse: Many solid wastes can be reused, either for the same or other purpose. Utilizing discarded bottles, jars, cans as flowerpots to creating mats from plastic bag piles Various innovative reuse of discarded non-biodegradable things are in practice. This reciprocally helps in reducing the production of wastes too.

Recycling: some non-degradable waste can be – Collected –Reprocessed – Recreated. Especially with metallic wastes. But the process is costlier than others.

Besides that, Landfill process is also widely practiced by but it’s just shifting the problem from one place to another. Incineration process is too expensive for our region to be done in bigger scale.

Everything mentioned here is nothing new, and very commonly heard thing. But yeah.. its just ‘heard thing’ and not practiced thing. And these aren’t just a ‘Practice of a day’ thing but gradually ‘Developing as a culture thing’.

And lastly, there’s great need of Population de-concentration from our town areas. Time is to brainstorm for this from every stakeholder in our society. Suggestive and constructive comments are awaited.

The post WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: What #Darjeeling Needs to Learn appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Plastic bags epitomise the use and throw culture that we have embraced, one that focuses on individual existence superseding our communal well-being. Among a long list of single-use plastic products that pile up in landfills and pollute our soil and water; plastic bags may be the most visible and vilified. It must have seen the most number of campaigns launched against it, a poster child of environmental movements, and yet it refuses to go away. The fallout of the rampant use of plastics is highly evident in our mountains, with choked drains and waterways leading to innumerable life-taking landslides, agricultural fields getting clogged and wildlife getting seriously impacted. Plastic litter is also widespread in the mountains and is impossible to retrieve.  

Many state governments and local authorities have notified complete bans on plastic carry bags but almost all have failed in implementation. What does this inability to stop plastic bag use then say about the mountain states’ will and ability to tackle the plastic crisis?

On Plastic Bag Free Day, 3 July, we reflect on mountain states’ actions in responding to the plastic crisis. How effective have plastic bag bans been, what does it mean for the vision of single-use plastic eradication in the country, and the possible pathways to progress towards single-use plastic-free Himalaya?

An online survey on plastic bag bans and their effectiveness across the Indian Himalaya Region was undertaken by the Zero Waste Himalaya and Integrated Mountain Initiative with 315 responses representing Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and UTs of Ladakh and J&K. 

The findings reveal that a very high 82% of respondents were aware of a plastic bag ban in their region with awareness higher in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Mizoram. Yet, the responses highlighting the short-lived or partial effectiveness of the ban across all regions are not encouraging. Only 19% mentioned the high effectiveness of bans, 35% felt bans were not effective at all while 31% mentioned they were effective only for some time. Plastic bags are still in use in all types of markets, from grocery stores to local vegetable markets, to larger supermarket stores as enumerated by the responses.

Source * – Notification for banning, manufacture, use, sale, import, and handling of single-use products. (Parliamentary Response from MoEFCC – 12/2/21). Does not represent data from the district or local bodies
 ** Study on status of plastic bag bans, 2021

The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 has prescribed a minimum thickness for plastic bags with only 50 microns bags or more being allowed (now proposed to be increased to 120 microns). But the survey has revealed that thin plastic bags of less than 50 microns are still pervasive with 52% of respondents indicating this.

Increased use of non-woven polypropylene (PP) bags, the new avatar of plastic bags which looks like cloth were also reported in the survey. Sikkim and Tripura had a higher number indicating the use of the PP bags. Sikkim’s plastic bag ban is perhaps the oldest, coming into effect way back in 1998 with strict enforcement for some years. The ban came about in response to choked drains that resulted in landslides and deaths. However, the use of polypropylene bags flooding the market in recent years has made the ban ineffective, and the Sikkim Government is considering the inclusion of the non-woven pp bag under the plastic bag ban. 

The black garbage bag has seen rapid escalation and indiscriminate use mainly among hotels and restaurants. The opaque nature of these bags is a deterrent to segregation of waste and biodegradables have poor chances of decomposing.

A new line of bags labeled as biodegradable, compostable, oxo-biodegradable, etc. is the latest addition to the plastic bag alternatives. The use of these types of plastic bags was represented in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tripura, and J & K responses. Promoted as the ‘greener’ alternative, they are at times more problematic as some of these are just plastic with additives that accelerate the disintegration into microplastics. Compostable claims made are also false, as our landfills where these bags invariably end up, do not provide adequate conditions to biodegrade. CPCB’s stamp of authority on some of these bags is not helping the cause and there is a serious need to relook at such approvals.

Charging for plastic bags is shown to be a good deterrent and even though the rules are explicit on charge for use, 45% of respondents mentioned there were no charges.

Beyond bags and bans: The big picture

Bans on plastic bags have been ineffective in the Indian Himalayan Region and the survey reiterates that they are still rampantly used. A Toxics Link report of 2014 has stated that ‘Ban’ is just one part of the larger solution and in isolation is not as effective as it was thought to be.” Most bans have been promulgated without long-term vision and people’s participation, clarity in implementation procedures, and institutional capacities to vigorously and continuously monitor the ban.

The measure of the success of the ban lies in its execution and citizens need to hold their governments accountable. Institutions have to diligently work towards the implementation of the notifications with a long-term vision and action.

Globally, awareness of plastic pollution and specifically single-use plastics have gained great momentum with countries and cities actively working to turn the tide against the use and throw culture. The debate is no longer only around plastic bags, but much expanded, one that encompasses all single-use plastics and questions single-use.

Half of the plastic ever manufactured has been produced in the past 15 years and over 50% of plastic produced today goes into making single-use plastic (What a Waste 2018). The fossil fuel industry still plans to increase its plastic production by 40% over the next decade. Finite resources being designed into products that are used briefly and trashed instantaneously is simply not sustainable, least of all for a product that pollutes throughout its life cycle.

While the visible and immediate impacts of plastic pollution have become everyday conversations, a deeper crisis of microplastics formed by the breakdown of plastics is also unfolding. Found in the rain, water, soil, salt, and human placenta, micro-plastic is all-pervasive and a serious threat to human and planetary wellbeing.

A Reuse Revolution in the mountains

On August 15, 2019, Prime Minister Modi declared that India would be free from single-use plastics by 2022. This vision can be made possible only by bringing in a reuse revolution to replace all single-use plastics and open up avenues for local groups to engage through green skills and services.

There is a powerful message conveyed through the simple act of carrying your own reusable bag. It is a message that rejects the use and throws mindset while embracing a sustainable lifestyle choice of reuse. Plastic bag-free day is an opportune moment to talk about reuse and reflect on our lifestyles to take steps towards a plastic pollution-free planet. It is an action that changes the narrative in redress of the waste crisis by not producing waste in the first place.

But for change to happen, we need to do much much more. Multitudes of people need to embrace the reuse revolution for our individual actions to add up to a larger whole. People in positions of power and influence must lead by example for others to emulate.

Plastic pollution is a real crisis. This needs to be recognized by the Governments and Local Bodies through policy strengthening and implementation with the strong will, commitment, and urgency that this crisis demands. 

Plastic bag eradication is the stepping stone to single use plastic eradication in the mountains.

Writes: Roshan Rai, Priyadarshinee Shrestha, Rajendra P Gurung. They are core members of the Zero Waste Himalaya platform that works on the issue of waste in the mountains. They are also active members of the Integrated Mountain Initiative.

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The dumping chute is where we officially dump our waste in Darjeeling and the dumping chute burns around this time of the year when the weather goes sunny and air extremely dry. A quick scan of my old photos of the dump burning dates back to 18 December 2010 so it is safe to say that the chute has been burning off and on for at least the past 10 years. The implications of the chute burning, where our unsegregated waste is dumped are that the air we breathe in Darjeeling is toxic (and here we are telling others about the purity of our air in the Himalaya and genuinely believing it too). With the lay of the land, when the chute burns, the smoke travels up and spreads around the major part of the southwestern side of Darjeeling. This is where we have our major markets and residential areas in Darjeeling. This is instant karma of Kaliyug for the year-long dumping of our waste downhill contaminating water and soil of people living downstream. So why talk of air pollution elsewhere when the air we breathe in Darjeeling can be seen, smelt and is incredibly poisonous. Incidentally this year, in the evenings the smoke is drifting down the valley and also the fire has been smouldering through the night too which would not happen in the previous years.  Methane is generated with the pressure that comes from the weight of the bio-degradable waste pile up, which then burst into flames. In these flames then burn all types of waste including plastics giving off toxic fumes of dioxins, furans and other gases that contribute to cancer, endocrine disruption, asthma, allergy to name a few.

The smoke that is covering our major part of Darjeeling town is a manifestation of our short-sightedness and lack of willingness to address the issue of waste. Waste has dramatically increased in quantum as well as changed in type with increased consumerism and complex plastic packaging. It is also a reflection of how we view waste as every jhora or waterway is a dumping space; ask people who live downstream as to what happens to the stream when the monsoon breaks. This year Pandam Khola burst its seams with plastic and raw sewage destroying a bridge and cutting off Dabaipani and Yangkhoo from town for a week.

We still believe that rolling our waste downhill is managing it and likewise burning waste makes it magically go away. In these past years, There has been global recognition that waste does not go away, it remains on our planet polluting our soil, water and air making our living spaces hazardous, toxic and poisonous. What then is our future as a species when our own lifestyle is our undoing?

The smoke that covers the town is a wake-up call for all of us. A wake-up call to dramatically change our relationship with waste. We need to go beyond the dustbin, broom, rolling down the hill and burning narrative. We need to recognize that the many types of waste like multilayered plastic that we generate has no technological solutions so we have to reduce it and demand of the companies who produce and use it to take responsibility of their waste, take it back or find sustainable material to replace them. We also need to recognize that a large portion of what comes in multilayered plastic is junk food and drinks, high in sugar, salt and preservatives that are extremely harmful to our wellbeing.

As a community of Darjeeling, we need to segregate at the source. Solid Waste Management Rules mandates segregation of waste at source. This is the only way where we can enable maximum material recovery and proper linkage to whatever limited recycling possibilities we have. We need to stop sending food waste to the landfill, period. Either link it to animal feed or compost at home or at the community level. 60 to 70% of waste will be managed at source if we compost. There are a plethora of composting possibilities available, what is needed is people and communities to take it up

Different sources of food and bio-degradable waste has to be addressed individually based on quantum and type, for example, hotels, restaurants, vegetable, fish and meat market waste have to be managed separately as well as levied in scale. The solid waste management rules also mandate that bulk generators take responsibility for their own waste.

While we have made a beginning with the door to door collection and removed the problem from our doorstep but the fire at the chute shows that the problem has just shifted and piled up. With the efficient door to door collection of waste, in garbage bags, we have ensured unsegregated waste pileup as never before. This pile-up was waiting for the right conditions to flare up and prove that it has not gone away. So segregation at source is the next step after door to door collection for us to manage our waste. Only with segregation at source can we efficiently compost and recycle.

There is always this challenge when we talk of reduction of multilayered plastic but what is really easy is to give up the plastic bag, plastic bottled water, plastic, styrofoam, thermocol cutlery. Imagine if everyone in Darjeeling gave up these plastic items. Imagine if every event: birth, marriage, death, meeting, marathon, seminar, religious programmes gave up these plastic items. And it is not difficult, these items came into Darjeeling in the last 10 years or so only and our lives were getting on fine without them too. This is the mindset change we need to bring in to manage our waste. Individuals, families, samaj, religious, political, educational, cultural organizations and institutions giving up these plastic items are what will make Darjeeling clean.

The essential shift in mindset begins with me saying I am responsible for my waste. The shift is to recognize the extreme limitations of the broom and the dustbin. The shift is to reduce my waste, segregate my waste and compost. We have to take the decision to stop using single-use plastics as an individual and community and take every step to reduce our waste to the landfill. Decentralised management is the only efficient way of managing waste as by the time it reaches the chute it has already become unmanageable. 

We need a clear road map with incremental steps of reducing our load at the chute, composting at source and efficient linkage to recycling. We need to take bold steps with policies and bylaws and commit to stop single-use plastic. We need to demand of companies to stop polluting our town and take responsibility for their waste that has no solution. We need to start now so that these photos of the burning chute becomes history and Darjeeling truly becomes clean and truly Swachh.

Writes: Roshan P Rai. He works with DLR Prerna and is a member of Zero Waste Himalaya.

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On the afternoon of 14 August 2019, we were at Darjeeling’s dumping site locally known as the ‘chute’ situated right below the south-west part of town, the supposed resting place of all the trash that was collected from every corner of the town and rolled down the hillside in a true out of sight out of mind fashion. The cemented projection to aid the rolling down the hill process, that gave the chute its name had long since broken away. Peering down from the edge, the colourful trash spread a long way down, the lowermost end disappearing into the dissipating fog, making it seem endless. Down below crows picked on the rotting part of the garbage, styrofoam boxes lay scattered. The steep incline of the hill made it difficult to judge how far down the waste rolled, or how deep.

Raw sewage flowed out of a large underground pipe that opened a little below the edge pouring the contents out into the open, where it mixed with the water flow that washed the trash down, making the chute a large open drain, a scar on the landscape. Unlike other dumping sites, Darjeeling chute’s intersection with sewage lines made the situation even more complex. While most of us covered our noses unable to bear the stench, contiguous to the chute, a colony of families went about their everyday lives.

Once the trucks were in position, the workers, stony-faced carried out their task in a nonchalant manner. No gloves, no masks, no boots to offer any level of protection from the dangers that lay in handling the mixed waste. From the trucks, plastic boards that had announced a recent SALE! in bright red colours tumbled down by the dozens, styrofoam packaging, plastic packaging, plastic bottles, tin cans, glass, leftover food, rotting vegetables, used sanitary napkins and diapers, all. Another layer of trash was added to the existing one, where most would remain for a long time.

‘There is no such thing as away!’ we had repeated this quote by Annie Leonard over and over in all our presentations to those who chose to listen to us. “When we throw anything away, it has to go somewhere”. At the dumping site in Darjeeling, this line took on a whole new meaning and relevance like no place else before. We were at that ‘somewhere’ and it was not far away, not for people who lived around it.

This place in Darjeeling laid thick with layers upon layers of waste exemplified everything that was wrong with our society, our systems and our current lifestyles. Our waste had travelled out of our houses conveniently invading spaces of those who had no voice to protest, being handled by those who had no choice, polluting our water, soil and air endlessly. While we are blinded by countless sales and discounts into buying more and more, while the glitter and glamour of false ads push us to own more stuff than we need, we remain oblivious to the larger picture of where the stuff we bought is coming from and where they end up eventually. The convenience of the use and throw culture we have readily embraced comes at a huge environmental cost that is largely ignored. Our societies turned into big garbage manufacturing units with no conscience. This needs to be set right and it needs to happen at many levels.

Our visit to the dumping chute was as part of the Plastic Freedom Challenge that Zero Waste Himalaya organises for a week from August 8 – 15, a campaign calling on people to be free from plastics during the Independence Week. To drive home the message about the urgent need of reducing our waste footprint, we were there with a group of college students to see firsthand the waste situation and for the understanding to sink in. Similar trips to Gangtok’s landfill site and Mirik’s dump yards have been eye-opening experiences in the past.

Very few who visit these places remain unmoved when faced with the truth of the waste trail, the mess, the stink, the flies, the pollution, most importantly the callousness of it all. Many are prompted into action, to bring changes at their own level- the circle of influence that is very much in their control. For change always begins at an individual level, and we can set things right by being more mindful about how we live, what we buy and how we buy, and connect the dots that what we buy is eventually what we throw.

But will individuals making the right choices ever be enough to bring a difference when the overall problem is so humongous? This is one question that a lot of us grapple with. For people who say yes, they say so with the hope that these individual efforts shall ripple to influence more people into taking positive actions, and all the positive actions will add to a larger whole eventually. Teachers influence their students, students their circle of friends and families, schools, organisations and samajs adopt plastic-free practices, all of these actions matter and bit by bit it will surely add up.

However there’s increasing additional opinion that responding solely through individual and community actions in the face of such an enormous challenge is an exercise in futility, and there is greater need to work towards systemic changes and increased producer responsibility. We could not agree more. The world has undergone a sea change in terms of production and consumption; we are using up way too much stuff and disposing them at a faster rate than ever before. Local authorities have to respond to this change and get their act together by moving away from the age-old practice of collect, transport and dump of managing waste. These are no longer sustainable options. Improved waste management systems that are grounded on principles of decentralisation, waste reduction and maximum recovery, environmental sustainability and social justice is the need of the hour. In this changing scenario, the willingness and the motivation of the local bodies to address the problem is paramount.

Research says more than 40 per cent of all plastic goes into making single-use items, most of which are non-recyclable in nature and therefore with no solutions at the end of their use. In other words, companies are simply turning non-renewable fossil fuel into the trash (usually with unhealthy junk food in between). This is the main reason why our landfills and dump yards are overflowing with plastic waste.

Who will hold these companies to account for all the plastic trash that they have been constantly dumping on us? The obvious answer here would be to look towards the Government, that they should frame adequate policies to address this issue, but the alternate answer would be, to begin with, oneself, which brings us back to the debate on whether individual contribution matters. The power of the individual lies not only in carrying out popular messages such as carrying one’s own bags and reusable bottles, refusing plastic straws and plastic cups, but also in calling out companies, demanding for change, and boycotting products that are excessively plastic packaged. ‘Stop buying trash and the companies will stop making trash’, is a common refrain among the zero waste fraternity.

Beyond this, the power of the individual and community also needs to be harnessed for taking stronger stands, and our efforts geared towards holding local bodies accountable for adopting practices and systems that are designed for sustainable waste management in the long run.

At a policy level, systemic change and producer responsibility are embedded in the Solid Waste Management Rules and Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2016, and though there might be some grey areas, for many aspects the rules lay it down bare in black and white. It mandates segregation of waste at source at all levels, it addresses bulk generators such as hotels and big businesses, has a strong polluter pays principle, empowers local bodies to frame their own bylaws, talks of social justice and integration of the informal network of waste workers, along with many other provisions that Local Bodies, both urban and rural can use to improve the current waste management situations.

However even after 3 years of notification of the rules, most states have performed very poorly on its implementation, so much so that this poor performance has prompted the National Green Tribunal to summon many states (Sikkim and West Bengal included) reprimanding them with clear instructions and deadlines till when they have to be compliant with the rules. By when will Darjeeling and Kalimpong be compliant with the rules? What will it take to get us there?

Back at the Darjeeling dumping chute, a slight drizzle had begun. Two more truckloads of garbage had arrived after the first two had left. Around 50 or more odd trucks transport Darjeeling’s waste throughout the day, we were informed. Workers sifted through the trash with their bare hands. “It’s a challenging task to keep Darjeeling clean, but the well being of people who make it possible has never been of concern to anyone,” they said. Most of the waste was rolled down the hill but a tiny bit of PET and metal that had some recycling value were recovered. The state of mixed waste made segregation and recovery a tedious task. As we watched them, we could not help but think what a world of difference a simple effort at segregating our waste to keep the recyclables separate would make for the workers.

Before we left, in a huddle we shared in one word how the dumping chute made us feel. Shocked, disgusting, the students shared. Ashamed and guilty were two others. The bright red boards announcing SALE! were soon covered by the new layer of waste. Slowly we made our way up to town as the fog covered the dumping chute and all that lay beneath it.

Writes: Priya Shrestha, Zero Waste Himalaya

The post What Lies Beneath! The Truth about Darjeeling’s Waste appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

दार्जीलिङ नगरपालिकाले गाडी दिएर प्रत्येक दोकानको, प्रत्येक घरको मैला उठाइरहेका छन् । साँझ चार पाँच बजेतिर जोरबङ्गला आइपुगेको गाडीले सक्दो ठूलो आवाजको हर्न बजाएर सिटी बजाएर मैला उठाउँदै शहरलाई दूषीत हुनबाट बचाउँने सक्दो प्रयासमा लागिपरेको छ दार्जोलिङ नगरपालिका । ढिलै भए पनि सबै कुरा हामी सिक्छौं भन्ने उदाहरण नजिकको सिलिगढीलाई नै हेरौं न धेरै वर्ष अघिदेखि र हालसम्मै हाते ठेलागाडीमा सिटी फुकी फुकी घण्टी बजाएर घरको दैलोअघि दुई-तीन मिनट पर्खेर पनि लान्छ मैला तर बिहानको समयमा ।

यहाँ कुरा अप्ठ्यारो हुँदै किन गयो भने मैला उठाइएको बद्लीमा दार्जीलिङ नगरपालिकाले एउटा रकम तोक्यो। जब विषय पैसाको भयो सराहनीय कार्य पनि सोचनीय बन्यो । कारण नगरपालिकाको अनुसार (लिखित रकम अनुमानमा लेखिएको हो तल माथि हुनसक्छ) प्रत्येक दोकान मासिक रू° ३००/- अनि प्रत्येक घरले रू° १०० /- को दरले सरंक्षण करको रूपमा तिर्नुपर्ने घोषणापत्रसहित आयो ।

अब दार्जीलिङ्गको मान्छे एकार्कामा गनगन र हल्ला गर्न थाल्यो “वार्षिक नगरपालिकालाई कर तिरेको कारण चाँही के हो……, ” दोकानेले “ट्रेड लाइसेन्समा त्यसैसँग सरंक्षण कर (conservation tax) पहिलैबाट काटिएको हुन्छ त अन्त……”, फेरि कोही भन्छ “सिलगढीमा घरलाई रू° १०/- दोकानलाई रू° २०/- मात्रै छ त हौ …..” अनेक व्यक्ति कुरा अनेक सुनियो ।

अब यी व्यक्तिहरू कुरा सुन्नोस्, जवाब आफै दिनुहोस् कारण हामी त्यो जग्गामा बोल्न सक्दैनौं किनकि जो बोल्यो त्यो राजनैतिक शिकार हुन्छौं । सायदै दार्जीलिङ शहर बाहेक अन्य वार्डमा भएको भन्दा ती ससाना दोकानहरू ठूला ठूला कमप्लेक्स होइनन् दिनमा २० रूपियाँ भनेको निकै नै गम्भीर विषय हुन यिनीहरूकालागि । फेरि महल जस्तो घर बाहेक अरू पनि त त्यस्तो अवस्थामा छ ९९.९% बेकारी अनि आधाभन्दा बेसी किरायाको घरमा रहल झोपडी जस्तै घरमा बस्छन् ।

यो पहल अति सुयोग्य भएता पनि एउटा साधारण जनता मर्कामा पऱ्यो भन्ने जनगुनासो पाइयो। पैसा नदिने होइन तर थोपिएको रकम अत्याधिक बेसी भएको र कर तिरेको रसिद पनि खाली नाम र पैसा मात्र लेखेर दिएको गुनासो हरेकबाटै पाइयो ।

नगरपालिकाले जुन रकम उठाइरहेको छ त्यसको विरोध सबैतिर भएता पनि कर सबैले तिर्नुपर्ने बाध्यता देखियो तर पछिबाट मूल्य अलिक कम भएको जानकारी पनि जनसाधारण को मुखबाट नै सुनियो।

अब त नगरपालिकाको गाडी पनि दुई तीन दिन बिराएर आउन थाल्यो फेरि सबै ठाऊँहरूमा मैला त्यही प्रकारले थुप्रन थाल्यो । कैलेकाँही साँझको पाँच छ बजेतिरसम्म पनि गाडी आउँदैन रहेछ । यसको जिम्मेवार को हुने? सम्बन्धित विभाग? कि आदेश दिने पहाडलाई माया गर्ने नेता? कि हामी स्वयं? व्यापरीहरूले कुहेको सब्जी, कार्टुनहरू इत्यादि, घर बनाउन काठ छिलेको (रन्दाको झुस), टाइल्सका टुक्राहरू, सिमेन्टको बोराभित्र हालेर एउटा व्यवस्थित ढङ्गमा फ्याँकिदिए हुने तर त्यही बाटो वा रेललाइनको छेवैमा फ्याकिदिन्छन्। तर हामी जताभावी अरूको पर्वाह नगरी फ्याँकिदिन्छौँ कि जुनदिन त्यो गाडी आउछ त्यसदिन नै लगेर जान्छ भन्ने प्रकारले । दोष कसको हो भन्ने बिषयमा म आफै पनि अन्यौलमै छु कारण जे खाएर त्यसको पाकेट (खोल) बाटो मै फ्याँक्ने म पनि हूँ ।

हामी कति सभ्य, शिक्षित छौं साथै हामीमा कतिको पाश्चात्य संस्कृतिको प्रभाव छ भने हामी खाना डाइनिङ टेबलमा खान्छौं, सुट पेन्ट लाउँछौ, तर कुकुरलाई पाइखना सडकमा अरूको आँगनमा गराउँछौं। कसिङ्गर त्यसरी नै जताभावी फ्याँकिदिन्छौं कसैको पर्वाह नगरी।

अब भन्नुहोस् हामी सबै कति को जिम्मेवार छौं यसप्रति ।
आउनुहोस् हामी प्रत्येकले माया गरौँ हाम्रो पहाडकी रानी दार्जीलिङलाई
जिम्मेवार, सचेत, सभ्य नागरिकको एक उदहारण भएर देखाऔं।
‘बिन्ती’

Writes: गौतम विश्वकर्म

The post स्वच्छ अनि सफा दार्जीलिङ: हामी सबै कति को जिम्मेवार छौं appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Call it lack of resources or plain simple indifference of Darjeeling Municipality, huge piles of garbage are accumulating in every nook and corner of Darjeeling. The biggest irony of the town is perhaps the hygiene and cleanliness around Darjeeling Hospital, where people mostly from rural areas come in the hope of finding a cure to their illness.

Who is to be blamed for this gross negligence? The municipality? The indifference of the locals? Or should be just blaming the tourists who bring the biggest revenue to our town? Blaming one another is easier than actually taking a concrete step. It is the collective efforts of the municipality, local vendors, residents, school children, youth, and the communities that will bring about a change.

Us locals, we love Darjeeling and are proud of its rich heritage; never once shying to brag about it with anyone who is willing to listen. 

But if someone asks ‘what about the garbage?’ we simply point fingers to the most convenient direction. I wonder why we don’t want to talk about the ‘not so beautiful’ things happening in our Hills. If Darjeeling is ours, the garbage also comes together with the package of  ‘Queen of the Hills’. Isn’t it our collective duty to take ownership of the land and its beauty? While everyone raises the hand to own Darjeeling, its pride and glory, but there is a stoic silence when it comes to the shameful and inglorious aspects of the city.

To understand the difference, we don’t even have to look too far; just a visit to Sikkim will expose the stark realities and differences. Simply taking pride in our land is never enough; we need to learn how to defend the name and fame of our Darjeeling, the Queen of Hills.

Oh Darjeeling, you beauty!! I cry for you today. The Queen has been dumped in the garbage, and what remains is just a memory and heritage of a glorious name and its wonderful people.

Writes: Buddham Tamang Moktan

The post Welcome to Darjeeling, where Cleanliness is nowhere near Godliness appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Inspired by the systematic way shown by the Zero Waste  Himalaya, they had been planning and organizing various events to fight against plastic Pollution.

On the 30th of Jan, 2018 they went to Tiger Hill and in addition to cleaning up, they did a waste audit too.

The waste collection started at 11:45 AM and was completed at 4:30 PM

With only 11 Volunteer on the very day, cleaning up took more time than had expected.

Here is what they collected

• 4 Sacks of beer
• 1 sack of Mineral Water
• 1 bucket of disposable plastic
• 2 Buckets Lays packet
• Half Bucket Uncle Chips
• Half Bucket Britania Cake
• 1 Bucket Nepal+ Sikkim Wai Wai
• 1 Bucket Single use Plastic cups
• 1 Sack disposable plastic, etc

This they collected only from the flat portion of Tiger Hill.

They discovered that

1. More than the bottles we had collected, much more were smashed and littered. Maximum bottles were thrown into the bushes which they were unable to collect.
2. The percentage of Unseen trash (which was inside the bushes) were unexpectedly higher that what we had seen and gathered.

Though we fight against plastic pollution, we focus more on Tiger Hill as this place is

1. Considered Holy
2. Tourism Spot
3. Main source of Water
4. To conserve Flora & fauna of Sinchel wildlife sanctuary

We would also like to draw the attention of the tea sellers of Tiger Hill, there is an urgent need for them to become aware of their source of income.

We still found so many disposable cups inside that dug areas of Tiger Hill which the consumer use as dumping waste. It feels so bad to see these every time.

We conclude that coming again and again to clean is not the only solution to  make this place clean, therefore we aim to bring awareness among each individual and local stakeholders so that the alert mind can always choose to be wise and act accordingly with all conscience.

Writes: Yuvraj Pradhan

The post Scavengers Clean Up Tiger Hill Again – Urgent Need for Sensitization Felt appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

But there was more to the exercise than met the eye.

Armed with gunny bags and brooms besides their usual rock climbing gear, these individuals from Nepal under the aegis of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, fanned out across the rock descending into its crevices and nooks.

Accompanied by HMI staff and 50 instructors, their efforts over two days yielded four trucks or roughly 200 kilograms of trash of all kinds, from multi-layered plastic to glass bottles, offering a glimpse into the waste problem in the mountains. Darjeeling is a colonial-era city, with one of India’s oldest civic bodies, ranked as one of the dirtiest cities in India.

“Even shopkeepers in the vicinity joined in. We also improvised and developed a system to haul up the litter using carabiners. Cleaning is incorporated in all our courses and twice every month we plan to replicate this activity in various spots across the city that faces a huge problem of littering and waste management,” said Group Captain Jai Kishan, HMI principal.

“As mountaineers, it is our responsibility to keep the mountains clean and generate more awareness among tourists and the local community,” he said.

According to reports, commercial mountaineering has turned Mount Everest (which can be viewed from Darjeeling’s Tiger Hill) into the world’s highest rubbish dump and as glaciers melt due to global warming they expose the trash that has accumulated since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest in 1953.

More than just a dirty view

Jai Kishan said the institute is open to training Darjeeling’s municipal body personnel if they need the expertise to collect trash from difficult-to-access sites, drawing attention to the historic way of dumping garbage in the ‘Queen of Hills’– by rolling trash down the hill slopes.

Gp Capt Jai Kishan interacting with local residents and requested them to keep the place green and clean

This practice that has been in place since Darjeeling’s inception in the second half of the 1800s, has led to the creation of a “historic pile of garbage”, said Roshan P Rai, a development worker with DLR Prerna, a Darjeeling-based NGO.

“Tourists do litter but we don’t have really good systems in place and the bigger picture is we are just rolling trash down the hill. And we actually don’t treat our waste, it is just rolled down the hills so there is a historic pile of garbage in the city,” Rai said.

In 2007, a 10-year-old girl was killed when an avalanche of garbage slid down the hill burying the child.

Trash finds its way into overflowing garbage vats, drains and ‘jhoras’ (waterways) pockmarking the city that was originally planned for 20,000 to 30,000 people and has now grown fourfold to more than 1,20, 000.

On online travel platforms, tourists often complain of a “dirty view” while traversing the landscape in the Darjeeling Toy Train. The profile of waste generated has also changed dramatically over the years making it difficult to tackle the burden.

“Because we have such an old history, there is a site within the town for managing waste which is the ‘Dumping Chute’ below the Hindu Burial Ground. Since colonial times, this is where the waste was thrown or managed. Earlier it was mostly biodegradable so it was manageable, but now with the mixed waste (with multi-layered plastic, single-use plastic) thrown down the hill, the problem has magnified,” Rai explained.

“But we do have a dedicated land in the hills and the municipality is unique in that sense. It can be easily converted into a system,” observed Rai, a core team member of the Darjeeling Chapter of Zero Waste Himalaya, a platform that advocates the Zero Waste approach: eliminate rather than ‘manage’ waste.

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) in a 2016 studyhad shown that the plastic composition of the municipal solid waste generated is “quite high” in 12 high-altitude cities in India.

In last year’s (2018) Himalayan Cleanup campaign organised by the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) and Zero Waste Himalaya, that ranged across 12 states, waste audit from 89 sites spread across the Himalayan states revealed 97% of the waste collected was plastic.

In the same year, the civic body in Darjeeling started dismantling garbage vats to make way for a door-to-door collection system.

“It is a good start but it’s not good enough if you want to look at linkages to recycling, extended producer responsibility (EPR) or even composting all our waste which could be done,” said Rai.

“There have been attempts in the past at setting up biogas units but we do not have basics in place. There is no segregation at source, addressing tourist sites, waste from hotels,” he explained.

EPR is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.

Instructors using Mountaineering technique to clean up the inaccesible surface of Rock

Not just Darjeeling, waste dots other Himalayan cities

At present 62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually in the country, out of which 5.6 million tonnes is plastic, 0.17 million tonnes is a biomedical waste, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million tonnes per annum and 15 lakh tonne is e-waste.

India in 2016, revised the Solid Waste Management Rules extending them beyond municipal areas to urban agglomerates and industrial areas. In the case of hilly areas, land for construction of sanitary landfills in the hilly areas will be identified in the plain areas, within 25 kilometres. The Plastic Waste Management Rules notified by India in 2016 incorporated the EPR concept.

“EPR even though mandated in the rules make it a challenge in the mountains in terms of collection and transportation. There is a definite shift in the way stakeholders are looking at mountain waste. Waste in mountains must be looked at in a separate way,” added Rai.

Darjeeling throws up 30 MT to 35 MT of trash a day, which can double during peak tourist season, said Sagar Tamang, vice chairman of the Darjeeling Municipality.

However, Rai said the volume of waste increases in the tourist season but even without them, it is a pretty grim picture in terms of what is done with the waste.

“With the change in the profile of waste that has come about, it has magnified dramatically as the amount of single-use plastics, tetra packs, and PET bottles have increased a huge amount,” Rai said.

“Given the hilly terrain, once they are littered it is extremely difficult to retrieve the waste, water washes away the trash and the monsoon doesn’t help,” said Rai, advocating looking at national policies in slightly different ways.

Tamang informed that there are plans to link up the trash deposited in the Dumping Chute with the biogas plant.

“We have started addressing the problem by starting segregation at source. From hotels too we are collecting the trash directly,” Tamang said.

(The article first appeared in Mongabay-India)

The post Mountaineers Clean up Truckloads of Trash from Darjeeling Hills appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The post PLASTIC FREE DARJEELING: An Appeal to the Heads of Schools in Our Hills appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Among the various groups that had participated in Plastic Freedom Challenge and Himalayan Cleanup, St. Teresa’s have continued to find ways to bring awareness about plastic pollution, and inspire people to reduce our dependency on our plastics.

Thank You St. Teresa’s for inspiring us all, we hope all other schools and institutions will also take up similar steps to curb plastic menace in our hills.

The post PLASTIC FREE DARJEELING: A Silent Revolution at St Teresa’s appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.