The East Khasi Hills district administration on Tuesday conducted a joint inspection of the Umkaliar River at Urkaliar to assess the extent of pollution and identify measures to prevent waste from reaching the Umkhrah River.
The inspection was led by Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal and brought together government officials, local headmen from Umpling, Nongmensong and Lapalang, officials of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board and Meghalaya Basin Management Agency besides members of the Operation Clean-Up.
Briefing reporters, Baranwal said the inspection was aimed at getting a first-hand assessment of the condition of the river and understanding the sources of pollution. He said the administration will now convene a meeting with all stakeholders to draft a Standard Operating Procedure for cleaning the river and clearly define the role of each agency and stakeholder.
The Deputy Commissioner said the focus will be on bringing all stakeholders on board and ensuring that the clean-up is sustained, rather than being limited to periodic drives. Operation Clean-Up, which has been working on river conservation since 2019, has been conducting fortnightly clean-up drives along the Umkaliar to remove waste before it reaches the Umkhrah.