ITANAGAR, Aug 8: Around 5,220 kg of garbage was removed from the Yagamso river during a clean-up drive organised inside IG Park here on Saturday as part of the commemoration of the 80th Independence Day.
The drive was organised by the Youth Mission for Clean River (YMCR) and Abralow Memorial Multipurpose Society, with support from the Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Limited. Volunteers cleared accumulated waste that had choked the river channel, helping restore its natural flow.
The collected waste was segregated and audited to identify the major sources and categories of waste entering the river. The audit found approximately 9,000 disposable plates and glasses as the largest category, followed by around 8,500 cement bags, rice bags and online-delivery bags, and nearly 8,000 pieces of plastic waste. Several other categories of waste were also recorded.
The findings highlighted the serious scale of irresponsible waste disposal and its impact on the Yagamso River and the surrounding environment.
IMC Ward No. 10 Corporator Yukar Yaro, along with her team, attended the drive and appreciated YMCR and its partner organisations for the initiative. Expressing concern over continued dumping of waste into natural water bodies, she urged citizens to adopt responsible waste-management practices.
YMCR chairman S D Loda called upon volunteers to take the message of cleanliness to their families and communities, stressing the collective responsibility to protect rivers and the environment.
YMCR vice chairman Keyom Doni said the strong participation of volunteers reflected growing environmental awareness among Itanagar's youth. He emphasised that river clean-up campaigns should be part of a sustained effort to promote responsible civic behaviour.
He said lasting improvement would come only when people stopped treating rivers as dumping grounds and recognised them as shared natural resources requiring collective protection.