Air quality in Nagaland will change soon, warns Kohima DC

KOHIMA — Nagaland does not have big industries but if citizens keep using more cars, the quality of air will change a few years from now, said Deputy Commissioner of Kohima, Shanavas C, on Friday.

He was speaking during the International Clean Air Day-cum-culmination programme of deeper public engagement and consultation under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) 2022-23 for Kohima City, held at the Capital Cultural Hall in the state capital.

Organised by the District Administration Kohima in collaboration with Züb Züb India, Kohima Smart City Development Ltd. and Kohima Municipal Council, the programme was participated by 22 schools in Kohima district which were selected for creating awareness about the NCAP to the citizens.

Asserting that the campaign should become a part of one’s daily life, the DC urged students to create awareness about keeping the city clean.

The biggest setback in Kohima is the absence of the middle class, he observed while encouraging citizens not to take cars but walk on foot, or take a scooter or a bicycle for short-distance travel.

Highlighting the activities of the NCAP in schools, Pelenuo, Managing Director of Züb Züb India, said their team taught students from the selected schools for about four months. From June to August, the students took the campaign to the streets and door-to-door as well.

Out of the 22 schools, three — Ruzhukhrie Government Higher Secondary School, Bayavü Higher Secondary School, and Government Middle School Midland, Kohima — were awarded the best-performing schools, while Northfield School, Kohima received the Epitome Award.

Smart living

Kezha Theunuo, CEO of Kohima Smart City Development. Ltd., said that every citizen of Kohima has a great role in protecting Mother Earth, urging all to strive towards becoming responsible citizens, which is the foundation of ‘smart living’.

“We need to take care of our city by implementing proper waste management system, conserving water and energy, keeping our city green, fresh and beautiful by planting more trees and flowers,” he said.

He further called upon the citizens to be mindful of their actions as it can affect their surroundings, adding that it might appear to be small, but when everyone does it, it adds up to create a cleaner, healthier and more beautiful city.

‘Active participation in community initiatives is the need of the day,’ he said while encouraging everyone to be actively involved in such initiatives as city planning and safeguarding city properties, helping the government with constructive feedback and ideas, etc.

He urged everyone to be vigilant about what one consumes. Today, in Nagaland, there are reports of many health issues and diseases which were unknown in the past few decades. Most of these health issues occur due to food habits and lifestyle, he added.

Asserting that “Smart Living” is all about being responsible and embracing changes, the CEO called upon all the citizens to support Kohima Smart City Development Limited in making Kohima a livable city.

Source of air pollution in Nagaland

Providing air quality status, particularly of Kohima and Dimapur, Rongsenben Longkumer, Junior Scientific Assistant (Air Division) of Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB), said some of the main sources of air pollution in the state are dust pollution from bad roads, emissions from vehicles and burning of waste.

Under the National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP), there are 11 (seven in Dimapur and four in Kohima) manual monitoring stations and one Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) station in Nagaland, she informed, adding that the Centre aims to achieve a 40% reduction in particulate matter by 2026.

Olivi Chophy, senior scientific assistant, NPCB, spoke about the mission LiFE, which is an Indian-led global mass movement to promote climate-friendly behaviour among individuals. It is designed with the objective to mobilise at least one billion Indians and other global citizens to take individual and collective action for protecting and conserving the environment in the period 2022-28.

Akangmeren Imchen, Scientist ‘B’ at NPCB while presenting on solid waste management: Duties and responsibilities, said that there is no proper collection of waste systems in Nagaland.

There are 39 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Nagaland but only one scientific treatment plant in Kohima (at Lerie) which is currently not operational. The rest of the ULBs have dumping sites without proper treatment facilities, while there are no collection systems and no record of waste generation in the rural areas.

He further informed that in ULBs, about 300 to 350 tonnes of waste is generated on a daily basis.

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