Manipur: Tamenglong residents clean Zelian lake catchment to conserve water

A group of environment loving community in Manipur’s Tamenglong district organized a drive to collect plastics from the catchment of an important water source called Zeilan Lake.

The move in one of the backward district headquarters has been initiated to conserve water and improve the problem of water scarcity for a sustainable livelihood in this era of global climate change.

The lake which is located at powerhouse colony of the Tamenglong district headquarters, 150 km west of Imphal is the main source of water supply to the whole town of Tamenglong which is dominated by Zeliangrong community.

The event was organised by the volunteers of the Evangelical Union (EU) of Tamenglong and Public Health & Engineering Department (PHED) officials at the catchment of lake.

The joint team led by Section Officers Premson Panmei and Hearty Panme of the PHED collected many plastic items and other debris which were lying in and around the drains located close to the lake, sources from hill town said.

“Plastics are the main source of soil pollution which also kills its fertility, pollute the water and endanger the aquatic life in and around the lake,” says an environment loving positive thinker resident of Tamenglong said when contacted.

The EU members numbering about 20 volunteers cleared up weeds and remove other wastes around the water body since last week as part of their continuous cleanliness drive.

The ongoing initiative is to contribute their efforts at their capacities at the local level in combating the bigger issue of Global Warming and Climate Change. Reports said the existing water supply plant at Tamenglong headquarters covers only about 10 per cent of town area.

According to PHED official Premson said, “Tamenglong is the only district of Manipur which has three greatsources of water in the hill areas. They are at Gadai Reserve, at Carpentry Colony and Zeilan Lake. Therefore, if we preserve and conserve these sources properly, we will have enough water for the whole town. For which deforestation has to be checked so as to conserve our natural forest while giving chances for these water sources to rejuvenate themselves.”

It may be worth mentioning that the cleaning drive for Zeilan Lake was started since last year under the initiative of the local MLA and the district administration.