By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister Bindo M Lanong has ordered a probe to verify reports of the death of fishes at Ranikor river after reports of the same surfaced in a section of the press.
“I was deeply concerned after I saw the reports in a section of the press about the death of a large number of fishes at Ranikor river. I have directed my officers to go and verify the death of the fishes,” Lanong, who is also in charge of the Mining and Geology department, said here on Saturday.
Initially, the officers of the Mining and Geology department would go to the spot to verify the incident, Lanong said, while adding that if the situation demands then officials of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) would also visit the Ranikor river to ascertain the actual cause of the death of the fishes.
When reporters pointed to the suspicion that the fishes might have died on account of exploration of uranium ore and unscientific coal mining in the area, the Deputy Chief Minister said that it would be difficult to comment anything until a proper study is conducted on the actual cause of the death of the fishes.
It may be mentioned that a section of the vernacular media had reported on Saturday that a large number of fishes had died in the Kynshi and Rilang rivers in West Khasi Hills.
The death of the large number of fishes was first noticed by the people residing in the Ranikor area on Friday morning, the papers had reported.
Residents of the area have also claimed that the number of fishes which have died is so large that if one decides to fetch the fishes from the rivers they would require a large number of empty trucks to carry them.
“Initially people were busy fetching the fishes to carry to their homes. But after they received reports that dead fishes have been found in both the rivers, panic gripped the local residents,” a villager claimed.
“Local residents believe that the fishes must have died on account of exploration of uranium ore and also due to unscientific coal mining in the area,” a resident of Ranikor area added.