By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 6: The Meghalaya government has claimed that in-situ nallah (a watercourse) treatment across 20 stretches of the Wahumkhrah river under the Shillong Smart City Project has shown encouraging results.
Commissioner and Secretary of Urban Affairs, Vijay Kumar D, said that to protect and rejuvenate urban water bodies, the Shillong Smart City Limited (SSCL) has successfully piloted in-situ nallah treatment across these stretches of the river.
According to Kumar, laboratory tests conducted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board have indicated positive outcomes, with pH levels improving and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) decreasing by 67.9%. He further informed that total suspended solids (TSS) have reduced by 87.54%, while faecal coliform levels have dropped by 95%.
“These outcomes highlight the effectiveness of the intervention and support the potential for scaling the initiative to other polluted river stretches, while also considering seasonal variations such as increased water flow during the monsoon,” he said.
Kumar added that, recognising the importance of a clean and sustainable environment, SSCL has significantly modernised the city’s solid waste management infrastructure. A key milestone in this effort is the engineering and installation of a segregated waste disposal plant at Marten, with the capacity to efficiently process up to 170 metric tons of solid waste per day.
He pointed out that this facility has greatly improved the sustainability and efficiency of waste processing in the city. Additionally, the acquisition of litter-picking machines has strengthened the Shillong Municipal Board’s efforts to maintain cleanliness across public spaces.