'Thoubal river highly polluted', says TRCC
Source: The Sangai Express
Thoubal, March 22 2024:
World Water Day is being observed across the globe on the theme 'Water for Peace' highlighting the importance and conservation of freshwater.
Amid such observations focusing on the significance of fresh water, Thoubal River Conservation Committee (TRCC) and People for Animals (PFA) Manipur have found that the Thoubal River is flowing at an alarming rate of above 400 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) which is of grave concern.
The above was found while measuring the pollution level of Thoubal River by TRCC and PFA Manipur on the occasion of World Water Day, said a press note jointly issued by the TRCC Convenor and Managing Trustee.
It may be noted that NTU is the unit to measure the presence of suspended particles in water and 'The World Health Organization (WHO) has established that the turbidity of drinking water should not be more than 5 NTU, and should ideally be below 1 NTU'.
Despite the restrictions imposed on illegal sand mining at Thoubal River and other protective measures, the river water continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate impacting thousands of lives dependent on this river.
In view of the prevailing conflict situation in the State, the plights of the people dependent on the water of this river have increased manifold adding more woes to their already existing problems.
Regarding the above concern, the TRCC maintained that Public Interest Litigation (PIL) will be filed against the relevant Government departments.