SHILLONG, Oct 9: With the pilot project for restoration of Lukha River in East Jaintia Hills becoming a success, the state government is now upscaling and expanding the project to other rivers in the state.
This was informed by Forest and Environment Minister, James Sangma.
The government in 2019 initiated a pilot project to rejuvenate the Lukha River by using algae to remove the toxic contents from water — a process called phycoremediation.
“We had this pilot project that was implemented in Lukha River. We saw its (project’s) success where phycoremediation improved the pH level of Lukha River, and now we are going to upscale this pilot project to other parts of Lukha and other rivers as well,” said the Forest and Environment Minister.
“The process has already started as we want it to not only be confined to Jaintia Hills but be expanded across the state,” he added.
When asked on the move to rejuvenate Umshyrpi and Wahmukhrah, James said, “Wahmukhrah and Umshyrpi are matters of the Urban Affairs department because they have the mandate for cleaning up and reducing the pollution spilled out into the rivers.”
“However, at the same time, we are also concerned about the catchment areas of the rivers and we want to look how, as a department, we can at least protect the catchment areas. The mandate to clean these rivers lies, however, lies with the Urban Affairs department,” he added.
It may be mentioned that the Lukha River’s colour-changing phenomenon had not only raised eyebrows but also questions in the past. There were also instances when dead fish would be found afloat the river, which is known for turning blue and at times yellow.
Petitions were also placed forth from all sections of society for the restoration the Lukha River.
Following the reports of low pH level affecting the aquatic life in the river, the pilot project was then undertaken under the District Mineral Fund.
