mbul River dying a slow death

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

IMPHAL, January 5: The mbul is a river which passes through the Imphal town and then meanders all the way to the Loktak lake.

There is genuine concern among the environmentalists and activists that the river will become extinct soon. People have been dumping garbage into the river and there is no government mechanism to stop it.

The feeble attempts by some environmentalists to check degeneration of the river have not brought any result.

The effluents trickle down to the river round the clock, contamiting the water.

People have constructed ordiry latrines, piggeries, cattle sheds, etc along the bank of the river. Even crematoriums have been constructed along the river bank.

Huge number of empty plastic bottles, domestic wastes and other discarded items are seen beneath each bridge.

There were serious attempts made to save the mbul river. There had been awareness campaigns including bicycle rallies. However, the response was lukewarm and the campaign did not generate much result.