'Pollution under control in State'
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR
Imphal, August 11 2016 :
Pollution in the State is under
control, said Takhellambam
Mangi Singh, Member
Secretary of the Manipur
Pollution Control
Board(MPCB) today at a press
conference organized by DIPR
at its office complex at
Moirangkho.
According to the Member
Secretary, the ambient air
quality monitoring carried out
by MPCB at Lamphelpat as a
part of the National Air
Monitoring Programme
(NAMP), the Annual Mean
Concentration of Respirable
Suspended Particulate Matter
(RSPM) i.e. PM10 level was
found to be within the Na-
tional Ambient Air Quality
Standards.
The monitoring is carried
out for 120 days in a year.
Ambient air quality monitor-
ing was also carried out
during Diwali festival.
There
is a problem of vehicular
emissions especially in the
heart of Imphal city.
Vehicu-
lar emissions contain
particulates, sulphur diox-
ides, oxides of nitrogen,
carbon monoxides, carbon
dioxides, volatile matters etc.
They are the main sources of
air pollution.
Though the authority to
issue Pollution under Control
Certificates (PUCs) is the
Transport Department, Govt
of Manipur on the initiative
MPCB, the Transport Depart-
ment has authorized Manipur
Pollution Control Board to
carry out vehicular emission
testing and issue PUCs,
Mangi added.
When it comes to water
pollution, the Member Secre-
tary said the problem is not
so acute in the State as there
are not many industrial units
in Manipur and that the dis-
charges from the few units do
not constitute a toxic level.
MPCB carried out water
quality monitoring of rivers
under the Monitoring of In-
dian National Aquatic
Resources (MINARS) pro-
gramme.
Altogether, CPCB
has approved 70 monitoring
stations in the State under the
programme.
The MPCB has
conducted monitoring tests in
its 42 stations for rivers,
dams and canals.
It also con-
ducts monthly monitoring
tests for lakes in its five sta-
tions.
It also has 10 stations
for conducting monitoring
test for ground water and
monthly monitoring tests for
ponds in its 13 stations.
The water quality of
Nambul River monitored at
Hump Bridge and
Heirangoithong was found to
be the most polluted.
The
water is not fit for direct
drinking or bathing.
Under
the directives of Central Pol-
lution Control Board, the
Board requested the State
Government to prepare Ac-
tion Plan for protection of
Nambul and Imphal Rivers,
he added.
As part of the National
Green Corps �ECO-CLUB
project under the Ministry of
Environment, Forest & Cli-
mate Change, GoI, MPCB
has established of Eco-clubs
in schools located in all the
districts of the State.
The main
objectives of the programme
are to make children under-
stand environment and
environmental problems to
provide environmental edu-
cation opportunities for
school children, to utilize the
unique position of school
children as conduits for
awareness of society at large,
to bring children into direct
contact with the environmen-
tal problems and make them
come with with solutions.
Under strict instructions,
RIMS, JNIMS, district hos-
pital, Thoubal and Shija
Hospitals have installed incin-
erators for disposal of the
bio-medical wastes.
The Bio-
medical Waste Treatment and
Disposal Facility of Shija
Hospitals and Research Cen-
tre, Langol is now operating
as a Common Bio-medical
Waste Treatment Facility
(CBWTF).
The district hospi-
tals of Bishnupur, Senapati,
Tamenglong, Churachandpur
and Ukhrul are also enrolled
with this common treatment
facility for treatment and dis-
posal of their bio-medical
wastes as an interim measure,
the Member Secretary in-
formed.
MPCB is regularly moni-
toring the health care facilities
for proper handling, treatment
and disposal of the bio-medi-
cal wastes.
MPCB is also
conducting periodical classes
involving medical students
of RIMS and JNIMS.
MPCB is carrying out ambi-
ent noise monitoring of the
major commercial areas of
the State in order to assess
the noise level with the stand-
ards prescribed under the
Noise Pollution (Control and
Regulation) Rules, 2000.In
order to reduce the noise
level, the State Government
has notified Keishampat
Junction to Raj Bhavan Gate,
Raj Bhavan Gate to Palace
Compound via Sanjenthong
Bridge, Kali Temple,
Moirangkhom to Imphal
Head Post Office, Raj Bhavan
Gate to PWD Gate, Imphal,
Hump Bridge to Western
Kangla Gate as no horn
zones.
MPCB is also carrying out
inventory, monitoring and
registration of plastic manu-
facturing /collection units.
Plastic manufacturing or re-
cycling is not much of a
concern in the State, accord-
ing to the Mangi as there are
only six plastic manufactur-
ing units and 2 partial
recycling units.
Reports of all Municipal
Councils are annually sub-
mitted to the Central Pollution
Control Board.
With the com-
missioning of the Imphal
Solid Waste Management
Plant at Lamdeng, it is ex-
pected that the problem of
solid waste management will
be solved to a large extent.
The press conference was
also attended by Waikhom
Roshan Singh, Assistant En-
vironmental Engineer,
Manipur Pollution Control
Board.
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