MIZORAM : Rochamliana — founder secretary of Mizoram’s leading research-based public policy think tank Zoram Research Foundation (ZRF) — couldn’t contain his excitement when UNESCO’s Delhi office approached him in November 2007, asking him to share photos of natural springs, ponds, rivers and waterholes found in and around the state capital Aizawl for its magazine.
As sophisticated mobile phones were few and far between back then, Rochamliana and his friends from the think tank picked
up a Nikon D50 digital SLR and made a beeline for the banks of the Chite Lui — the 20-km long river that originates at the Bawngkawn range in north Aizawl and joins the Tuirial River at the city’s southern end. But the group froze in shock when they finally reached the river.
Banks strewn with garbage, trash floating in the water, depleted natural vegetation and soil erosion due to deforestation. It was far from the picture-perfect scene they were hoping to capture.
Rochamliana, who is also a teacher at the Government Aizawl College and a member secretary of the Mizoram Institute of Advanced Studies, recalls, “Far before that, there was a time when the banks of this river were rich in flora and fauna. Those days, the farmers used to depend on this river for cultivation. And residents of Aizawl would often visit the riverbanks for picnics. It was quite a scenic setting back in the day. I would hang out there with my friends. We had set up benches there to relax.”
Seeing the sorry state of affairs prompted him and other members of the ZRF to take a pledge to revive the river. Over time, government agencies, NGOs and the church joined the Save Chite Lui Movement. Two decades on, the river is “safe”, thanks to mass awareness.
Discussing the journey of the state capital and what went wrong, he muses, “Aizawl is a growing city that remains unplanned. There has been a steady migration of people from rural areas, resulting in its expansion. Many houses, shops and other establishments came up on the river’s space.”
But after the launch of the movement, the ZRF began campaigning within and outside Mizoram for the river’s restoration and conservation.
Seminars, discussions, radio, TV talk shows and special lectures were organised in association with various NGOs and institutions. The Ministry of Water Resources even advised the ZRF to make a request for a grant in support of its work with the state’s Public Health Engineering Department as the nodal agency at one point.
However, Rochamliana says the ZRF decided against it after facing “obstacles” from the department’s side.
Though marred by a lack of support in the beginning, the movement gained momentum in 2017, when then Aizawl District Magistrate Kannan Gopinathan and Governor Lt Gen (retd) Nirbhay Sharma showed a keen interest in working for the river’s revival. The ZRF members also met with erstwhile Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and Chief Secretary Lalmalsawma, who voiced support for the cause.
Naturally, Rochamliana was pleasantly surprised: “We did not expect such enthusiasm and interest. We realised the movement would now get a fresh momentum. Discouragement gave way to enthusiasm, vigour.”
In June that year, the Save Chite Lui Coordination Committee was formed with the Governor & CM as its patrons and the Chief Secretary as its chairman. It was followed by the setting up of the Save Chite Lui Executive Committee. Subsequently, two action plans were formulated.
They felt that in order to restore and conserve the Chite Lui, it was important to foster a better understanding of the river. The Chite Lui Baseline Survey was conducted to that end. The length of the river throughout the Aizawl municipal area and its breadth at different places were measured. A study was conducted on the vulnerable dumping sites.
In 2018, the state passed the Chite Lui (Prevention and Control of Water Pollution) Bill to protect the river from pollution, prohibiting the dumping of animal carcasses, biomedical waste or garbage in the river. The law empowered the state pollution control board to regulate such activities.
But Rochamliana knew that legislation wasn’t enough to usher in a change. In order to reverse the damage caused to the river, it was imperative to impress upon the masses the significance of the Chite Lui.
So, the activists organised street plays, photography competitions, exhibitions and nature walks to sensitise people on the subject. Besides, the ZRF proposed construction of check dams to filter the river’s pollution and fencing dumping-prone areas. Afforestation drives were organised to tackle soil erosion.
Scientists and scholars from the University of Minnesota and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization visited Mizoram in 2017 to conduct a survey on the Chite Lui. They advised stakeholders not to expect results overnight, stating it would be a long process, requiring foundational changes. “They said it took a long time to clean the Thames River, too. They cautioned us not to be in a hurry, or else we might lose our movement,” he says.