Cleanliness icon turns attention to city's ghats

GUWAHATI: Ahead of the two-year anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2, cleanliness warrior from Nagaland Temsutula Imsong, who almost single-handedly cleaned the ghats of the Ganga in Varanasi, has turned her attention closer home.
The feisty 34-year-old, who earned praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her clean-up mission in Varanasi, wants residents of Guwahati to clean the Brahmaputra's banks.
"The numerous ghats of the Brahmaputra should be treated as temples and preserved for the next generation," Temsutula said. "Whether it is the Bible or the Gita, we have been taught to treat our body as a temple. We can extend this teaching to the ghats here. The zeal to preserve them should come from within," she added.
There are five prominent ghats located within the city and all of them are in a bad shape. They are used for defecation, immersion of idols, washing of clothes, religious rituals, bathing, for waste disposal and illegal activities by rowdy revellers.
A case in point would be the Kachomari Ghat, which is located between the two arterial localities of Machkhowa and Fancy Bazaar.
An immersion point during Dashami, the Kachomari Ghat is very important for commuters from North Guwahati who disembark here before going to their offices in the city.
The entire stretch of the ghat is vulnerable to littering and open defecation by migrant labourers. Areas adjacent to the ghat are either strewn with rotten vegetables, thanks to its proximity to commercial trade centres, or stinking of horse or mule manure.
"A long time ago, the entire stretch was clean. Breeze from the river and the scent of flowers would make the area very pleasant," said Hela Das, a sculptor and a resident of Bharalumukh.
Around three kilometer away from the Kachomari ghat lies the Kachari Ghat which is better off. It is cleaner, greener, more scenic and home to the historic Kachari Ghat Bazaar.
"If I find time, I will definitely come to Guwahati and take up initiatives to clean the ghats here. A rise in collective consciousness will do the work. Even if one individual picks up a broom, it will result in a larger change," she said.
Temsutula would know all about individual effort. She and a few like-minded friends founded Sakaar - an NGO - and the first thing they did was to clean the Ganga ghats of human excreta. The fact that she hailed from Mokokchung contributed a lot towards her passion for cleanliness.
Her efforts earned her a pat on the back from Modi, who tweeted: 'This effort by Temsutula Imsong and the entire team to clean the ghats in Varanasi is phenomenal! I salute them.'
Echoing Temsutula's views on the city's river-front was wildlife expert and herpetologist Jayaditya Purkayastha who said steps like netting the ghats and better policing would help save them from destruction.
"I agree with what she (Temsutula) has said about treating the ghats as temples. People should not be allowed to wash clothes at the ghats as soda from washing powder kills aquatic life," he pointed out.