Water testing lab unit soon in State
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network

Imphal, November 17 2012: Manipur Science and Technology Council (MASTEC) today said it has planned to launch accredited water testing laboratory unit for Manipur.

In an unrelated significant move to enhance availability of more purified drinking water to the public, MASTEC has begun supplying 5000 litres of drinking water per day at Govindajee Temple, Imphal under a newly installed water purification system.

"Whenever the need of water testing rises in the state, we have to send sample outside as there is no accredited water testing laboratory here.

To deal with this, MASTEC has planned to set up an accredited water testing laboratory unit in the state soon," Th Surendranath, Director, MASTEC, told Newmai News Network.

Positively, Sanjoy Vajpai, a scientist at Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has given green signal to the proposal of MASTEC, he said.

However, Sanjoy has told him to discuss the range of water related issues of Manipur before the plan for installation is set off, the MASTEC Director further said.

Based on the positive response of scientist Vajpai, MASTEC has decided to organize a brain storming session on water related issues confronting in the state on November 30 at Hotel Classic, Imphal.

The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India will sponsor the brain storming session wherein a host of resource persons from other states including Vajpai will take part.

In samples collected from various water sources from different parts of the state, the presence of arsenic and other harmful minerals including polluted water have been detected during tests, Surendranath said, adding such tests were carried out outside the state.

It would be an advantage and at the same time a much easier task while conducting water testing if an accredited water testing laboratory is opened in Manipur, he said.

Meanwhile, MASTEC has started supplying sufficient drinking water at Govindajee Temple under a scheme called 'Demonstration of Ceramic Membrane Technology to North Eastern States.' The drinking water supply scheme is taken up under Ceramic Membrane Technology (CMT), a water purification system, Surendranath informed.

He said the CMT is developed by the Kolkata based Central Glass Ceramic Research Institute, Government of India.

Under the technology, MASTEC has begun supplying 5000 litres of water per day at Govindajee Temple.

The installation of the mechanism has cost around Rs 5 lakh.

The newly installed water purification system at the temple can remove arsenic, iron and other micro-organism from impure water.

Sample of the purified water was also sent to Central Glass Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata for test.

The test result qualified the standard of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS).

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