New Year, age-old littering on a picnic spot.
Scenic Domuhani in Sonari, also known as Rivers’ Meet, was found littered with rotting food, thermocol plates, plastic waste and other garbage on Monday, after the first Sunday of the New Year.
Picnickers who flock to the confluence of the two rivers Kharkai and Subernarekha have littered over an acre. Ironically, civic body Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), busy preparing for Swachh Survekshan 2020 surveys, is yet to remove the garbage.
A clean-up is vital as Domuhani hosts the city’s biggest Tusu Mela on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The festival commences on January 14.
Raju Mahato, a resident of Sonari and an active member of the social outfit Jharkhand Sanskritik Kala Kendra, said he hoped that a civic body would clean the place before Makar Sankranti. “Since last week of December, picnickers have badly littered the space. We have informed both Jusco (Tata Steel-owned civic utilities company) and JNAC to clean the area before Makar Sankranti which has a big fair. No action has been taken.”
Over 15,000 people throng the two-day Tusu festivity at Domuhani enjoying the fair held by the Jharkhand Sanskritik Kala Kendra. Here, a chaural (a bamboo structure worshipped as a symbol of prosperity and joy) and Tusu idol (the goddess of fertility and harvest) are major highlights. More than 3,000 people also take a holy dip at the confluence.
JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar promised a massive cleaning drive ahead of festivity. “The team of Swachh Survekshan can arrive any moment for field verification and we would like to present clean face of the landmark,” he said.
