Toxic wastes now pushed underground !

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Apr 4 : Following The Sangai Express' expose, JNIMS (Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences) authorities have hastily  buried biomedical and chemical waste, including anatomical and animal remains at the Central Dairy Plant complex at Porompat in pits.
Even as the waste have been buried using heavy machinery at the same site, a lingering question remains: does this makeshift solution comply with legal regulations, or is it merely a cosmetic fix ?
Notably, the site where JNIMS disposed the waste lies next to the hospital's mortuary and no authorities have taken up any action regarding the improper disposal of toxic waste newar the milk processing facility.
While some piles of the waste have been buried in dug pits, some have been covered with earth.
It is unclear if the Manipur Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and other authorities authorized JNIMS to bury the toxic waste instead of taking enforcement action.
The Sangai Express contacted some top MPCB officials about the issue, and they agreed to inspect the site in the evening.
Although this reporter requested to join, the MPCB instead conducted the inspection with other media personnel and the team saw contaminated  and biohazardous waste, including blood-stained bags, gloves, tubes, urine bags, and used syringes, being buried at the site using heavy machinery.
Some ponies were also seen grazing at the site during the inspection.
The media personnel who accompanied the MPCB officials contacted a top JNIMS doctor regarding the issue and the latter claimed the waste was general waste, not biomedical or chemical waste, contradicting earlier findings.
When media personnel disputed the claim, citing first-hand evidence of biomedical waste at the site, the doctor revised his statement and admitted that some biomedical waste might have been mixed in.
Later, the media team went to meet the JNIMS Director, and she was found discussing the issue with MPCB officials in her office.
When asked about the improper disposal of biomedical waste, the MPCB officials who were with the JNIMS Director claimed that they found no waste when they reached the Central Dairy Plant complex.
Despite the media team's insistence that the waste were buried at the site (Central Dairy Plant complex), the MPCB team left the place after stating they had informed JNIMS authorities about proper disposal protocols for biomedical and chemical waste.
The media team also met with some top doctors of JNIMS and they said that most of the colored bags contain segregated general waste but some biomedical waste may have been mixed in by mistake.
They went on to state that the site where the waste are being dumped is JNIMS's complex.
Saying that the disposal of hospital waste was earlier handled by an NGO, the doctors added that JNIMS currently faces some problems in waste management due to shortage of funds.
They also said that they will try to segregate the biomedical waste.
Despite JNIMS' explanation, a critical question remains: Do legal regulations permit the burial of toxic waste or to cover it with earth in any open space?
Moreover, it has come to light that the students of Modern College had written to the JNIMS Director to not dispose biomedical and chemical waste inside the Central Dairy Plant complex as the dumping ground is dangerously close  to the college.
It is reported that many Modern College hostel residents have vacated the premises due to the unbearable stench from the nearby waste.
Chinglemba Ningthoujam, Modern College Students' Union general secretary, revealed that the college's boys' hostel and mess hall are adjacent to the Central Dairy Plant, and even the hostel is now swarming with flies.
He also said that they have already written to the JNIMS Director to dump the waste elsewhere but no action has been taken up yet.
He cautioned that they will launch a strong protest if the JNIMS authorities don't remove the waste and dispose it somewhere safe.