HC asks state to clean Umran river

SHILLONG: A Division Bench of the Meghalaya High Court has asked state authorities to take necessary steps in maintaining the quality of water of the Umran river that has been affected by a petrol pump nearby.
The court has also directed the chief secretary to convene a meeting within 10 days to instruct officials concerned to act on the order.
The tests conducted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board revealed that water quality flowing from the inlet and outlet drains of the filtration units of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) petrol pump at Umran does not conform to the standard for discharge of environmental pollutants into the river.
The tests found that the turbidity of water flowing from upstream and downstream of the Umran Diary flowing behind the boundary of the BPCL petrol pump requires treatment by the authorities concerned so that the water remains fit for human consumption.
The court also instructed the chief secretary to ask all concerned officials to do the needful at the earliest.
An affidavit in this behalf will be filed by the Chief Secretary on or before next date. The matter was listed to be heard in the last week of June.