India News | Himachal Identifies 70 Plastic Dumping Sites Under Central Campaign to Tackle Legacy Waste
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Himachal Pradesh used satellite imagery to identify 70 plastic waste sites under the Centre's Swachhata Hi Seva campaign that aims to ensure visual cleanliness and tackle legacy waste, an official has said.
New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh used satellite imagery to identify 70 plastic waste sites under the Centre's Swachhata Hi Seva campaign that aims to ensure visual cleanliness and tackle legacy waste, an official has said.
The Centre is carrying out the countrywide Swachhata Hi Seva campaign from September 15 to October 2 to encourage community involvement in activities such as cleaning and sanitation work.
The campaign aims to create public awareness, promote clean and hygienic villages and emphasise that everyone should take responsibility for cleanliness.
A senior Jal Shakti department official said the Aryabhatta Geo-informatics and Space Application Centre (AGiSAC) -- a branch of the Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) -- carried out the GIS-based mapping of legacy waste sites through satellite imaging.
"AGiSAC identified 70 sites using available satellite imagery on the basis of plastic waste signature and the geographical coordinates. The number of identified sites in the districts include seven in Bilaspur, five in Chamba, nine in Hamirpur, nine in Kangra, four in Kullu, seven in Mandi, 17 in Shimla, three in Sirmaur, four in Solan and five in Una," the official said.
Out of these 70 sites, 43 are in rural areas.
The list of identified sites has been shared with the deputy commissioners and block development officers concerned.
Necessary instructions have been issued to the block development officers to take steps to remove the legacy waste, including plastic, from the identified sites before Swachh Bharat Diwas on October 2 by running special drives, the official said.
Legacy waste refers to sewage that was improperly managed or disposed of in the past and continues to pose environmental and health risks in the present.
After eradicating the plastic from these sites, block development officers/gram panchayats have been directed to ensure that no waste is dumped there in the future. The gram pancyaats have been directed to impose fines on anyone found dumping waste at the sites.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)