By ILONA ANDREW
PENAMPANG: The awareness of the importance and responsibilities of maintaning drain and river cleanliness among the public is still low, said Kapayan Assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang.
She said, a lot of the rivers are an eyesore, dirty and with a lot of garbage especially on the riverbanks that would be drained out to the sea waters.
“Garbage dumping and discharging of waste directly into the rivers or drains will cause the water quality to deteriorate or become polluted.
“As the people’s representative and on behalf of the state government, I take this matters which have caused water pollutions very seriously,” she said in his speech during the Mudball Throwing launching ceremony at Kampung Ganang here, Wednesday.
A total of 3,000 mudballs which were produced by the Kapayan Environment Team (TASK) and the village community involved in a recent mudball production workshop were thrown into the river.
According to Jannie who is also the Assistant Minister of Law and Native Affairs, the use of biologically produced mudballs using soil, rice paddy, brown sugar, and active microbes is an effort to conserve the river.
“This technological method can help to protect river ecosystems by breaking down sludge and increasing the number of microorganisms to improve water quality,” she asserted, adding that the treatment of Effective Organism Mud Balls can reduce levels of pollution.
“Therefore, the cooperation from various parties is very important in raising awareness to the public on the cleanliness of drains, rivers, and seas,” she noted.
