Saharsa: The sanitation and cleaning operations for the Sonbarsa Raj Nagar Panchayat in the district are currently outsourced.
Initially, waste collected from various neighborhoods across the Nagar Panchayat was dumped into the Tilabe River. Now, with the arrival of the festival of Chhath, the river—specifically the areas near the *ghats* (riverfronts)—must be cleaned all over again. In essence, the process involves polluting the river first, only to clean it later—even though the Tilabe River itself is an integral part of the Nagar Panchayat area.
Had the areas surrounding the Tilabe River been cleaned regularly, and had the river not been treated as a dumping ground for waste, this situation would never have arisen, nor would there have been a need for such unnecessary expenditure.
In reality, it appears that public funds are being misappropriated under the guise of cleaning the Tilabe River. While the government, through initiatives like ‘Ganga Utsav 2026’ and the *Ganga Aarti*, is working to raise awareness about the importance of clean rivers, the local municipal administration has effectively turned the Tilabe River into a garbage dump.
The Agency Responsible for Urban Sanitation
The agency tasked with the city’s sanitation has transformed the Tilabe River into a filthy drain by filling it with waste. It is alleged that the agency—which receives an annual payment of approximately 1.5 crore rupees—has been dumping tons of municipal waste directly into the river’s flow path.
Ironically, the municipal administration is forced to spend lakhs of rupees in additional funds just to clear this waste before the Chhath festival. Spending twice on the same task raises concerns about financial irregularities. Furthermore, dumping waste into rivers and water bodies is a punishable offense under laws related to environmental protection and pollution control. This begs the question: who is responsible for keeping the river free of waste, and when will action be taken against this negligence? Meanwhile, Naveen Kumar, the Executive Officer (EO) of Sonvarsharaj Nagar Panchayat, states that the municipal administration is only covering the expenses for the JCB.
