Two Days Mass Awareness March on Stream Water Pollution and its Environmental Aspect

This programme was organised by D.K. Associates Social & Cultural Organisation on the 22^nd and 23^rd May 2007. The Programme included a march by school and college students to highlight stream water pollution in Shillong. The Board was the main sponsor of the Programme and also provided Resource Persons, Ms. B Majaw, Environmental Engineer and Shri B. B War, Assistant Environmental Engineer, to address the gathering of school and college students on the two days respectively.

Observation of World Environment Day 2007

On the occasion of World Environment Day 2007, the Institution of Engineers (India), Shillong Local Centre, organised a one-day seminar in which Shri D.Hooroo, Member Secretary, gave a presentation on the causes of contamination of the Lukha River. The Board was also the sponsor for the venue and the refreshments.

District-wise Environmental Mass Awareness Campaign

The Board is conducting One-day “Environmental Mass Awareness Campaign” Programmes for school students in the Headquarter of each District during the months of August, September and October of the year 2007. The Programme will include items like inter-school painting, poetry writing, floral arrangement, open quiz, etc, which will be finalized in consultation with the management of the participating schools. Besides cash prize awards and certificates to winners, excerpts of the winning items will be incorporated in the upcoming Calendar 2008 to be released by the Board next Year.

The Board will also be conducting One-day “Environmental Mass Awareness Campaign” Programmes for the general public in the Headquarter of each District later in the year. In these programmes, resource persons, representatives of NGOs and the public can interact and present their views on local environmental pollution problems and their abatement and control.

The Board organized a Two-day Seminar on Municipal Solid Waste and Bio-medical Waste Management on the 13th and 14th March 2008 at City Hut – The Family Dhaba, Oakland, Shillong in which a total number of 93 (ninety three) participants registered. The participants represented the Health & Family Welfare Department, the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department, Urban Affairs Department, various hospitals and health care facilities, Meghalaya Urban Development Authority, Municipal Boards and various NGOs.

Shri R. Chatterjee, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Meghalaya was the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Function, which was chaired by Shri V.S. Oberoi, IAS, Principal Secretary, P.H.E. Department, Govt. of Meghalaya. Shri H. Prasad, Chairman, Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board gave the welcome address. This was followed by the keynote address given by the Chairperson and the inaugural address given by the Chief Guest. The Vote of Thanks was proposed by Shri D. Hooroo, Member Secretary, Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.

The Seminar comprised of eight technical sessions in which resource persons from different organizations gave presentations and video shows on the management of the different wastes. Each technical session was followed by lively discussions between the participants and the presenters. The topics of presentations are given below:

1. “Legislative Framework and Policy Guidelines for Municipal Solid Waste Management in India” presented by Shri A. Chattopadhyay, Zonal Officer, Central Pollution Control Board – North Eastern Zonal Office, Shillong.

2. “Composting of Municipal Solid Wastes” presented by Prof. S.K.Gupta, Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), Powai, Mumbai.

3. “Biomedical Waste Management” presented by Prof. S.K.Gupta, Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), Powai, Mumbai.

4. “Decentralized Community Waste Management” presented by Shri P. Pastore, Toxics Link, New Delhi

5. “Legislative Framework and Policy Guidelines for Bio-Medical Waste Management in India” presented by Shri A. Chattopadhyay, Zonal Officer, Central Pollution Control Board – North Eastern Zonal Office, Shillong.

6. “Alternative Technologies in Treatment of Bio-medical Waste” presented by Shri P. Pastore, Toxics Link, New Delhi.

7. “Mercury in Healthcare” and “Rural Immunisation Waste in India” presented by Shri P. Pastore, Toxics Link, New Delhi.

8. “Bio Medical Waste and its Disposal” presented by Shri P.P. Pathak, Fresh Air, Guwahati.

The Seminar ended with a Valedictory Function presided over by Shri H. Prasad, Chairman, Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board.