Itanagar, Dec 3 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief MinisterPema Khandu has expressed concern over the hight content ofNephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) in the Siang river in thestate and said his government was in constant touch with theCentre so that New Delhi could take up the issue with China.
The Siang river, which flows as Yarlung Tsangpo fromsouthern Tibet, becomes the Brahmaputra river in Assam.
Khandu is also likely to meet Home Minister RajnathSingh over the issue.
Talking to reporters at Pasighat Advance Landing Groundyesterday, Khandu said his government has taken up the issueof sudden change in water quality of the Siang river and highcontent of NTU in the water causing death of aquatic lives andeven livestock in the state.
The chief minister was apprised of the situation atPasighat by the Disaster Management Parliamentary SecretaryKaling Moyong, who is also the local MLA, Lok Sabha MP NinongEring and deputy commissioner Tamiyo Tatak.
Ering had recently written to Prime Minister NarendraModi with a request to take up with the Chinese governmentregarding sudden change in water quality of the Siang river.
The deputy commissioner briefed Khandu about the currentsituation of the river flow where NTU was found to be veryhigh to the extent of 425 and said that if exposed for a longperiod it might affect aquatic lives.
A report prepared by East Siang Public Health Engineering(PHE) Department executive engineer, Bimal Welly, said thatthe Siang water is high on iron content.
Based on water sample collected on November 27, thereport said that NTU caused by concentration of suspended ordissolved particulate materials in the river water is 425 NTU,whereas the permissible range is 0-5 NTU.
The report also confirmed higher degree of iron contentin the river waters, 10 PPM (particles/million), against thepermissible limit of just 0.1 to 2 PPM.
The same sample will be sent to the State Water TestingLaboratory in Itanagar.
The sample has been sent to the North East RegionalInstitute of Science and Technology in Nirjuli for furtherstudies. PTI UPL RGKJ.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.