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Private nursing home accused of dumping hospital waste in river

By Farhana Ahmed

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Oct 11 - The plogging programme launched on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi�s 150th birth anniversary on October 2 here, seems to have made zero impact as a private nursing home was found dumping its hospital wastes into a flowing river outside North Lakhimpur.

Chowdhury Nursing Home, one of the oldest private hospitals in the town was found dumping its wastes in Kakoi river on Wednesday. Hardly a week after the plogging event by the district administration to achieve a clean and plastic-free environment, the nursing home staff, flaunting all rules, were found dumping two tractor loads of hospital wastes on Bihuwapam ghat of Kakoi river near the office of Kadam Gaon Panchayat under Bogeenadi Police station, 8 km east from here. Two tractors hired by the private nursing home dumped both solid and liquid wastes in that area attracting the ire of the local villagers due to the stink and filthy smell. On a complaint by local villagers, police detained the drivers of the tractors, a staff of the nursing home and one janitor from the spot. The incident exposes the non-existence of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan in Lakhimpur which has been taken as mere tokenism by the concerned departments on occasions like Gandhi Jayanti.

It may be recalled that the Swachch plogging organised by the Lakhimpur district administration on October 2 even failed to clean and clear garbage dumping spots in several areas of North Lakhimpur. The state of the garbage dumping areas, which are less than 50 metres away from the District Judicial Complex and Deputy Commissioner�s office remain as it is despite the plogging. There is no public toilet facility near these two important installations where large crowds gather every working day. As a result, people urinate openly on the residential bylanes near that area causing dirt and filth for the local people. The dysfunctional state of the North Lakhimpur Municipality board has further added to the woes of the public.

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