'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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