Imphal, June 11: Air and smoke pollution is beginning to take its toll on the people of Mantripukhri, especially the residents at the Staff Colony of TASAR Research Centre.

According to a survey conducted by The Sangai Express, the main source of the air and smoke pollution is the coal mixing machinery units placed near the gate of TB Hospital, Chingmeirong.

This unit is under sub-division V of the mechanical division-I of the State PWD.

Residents staying at the 36 staff quarters of Regional TASAR Research Centre said that most of the time they are forced to remain indoors to escape the smoke emitted by the coal mixing machineries.

Compounding the matter is the fact that the direction of wind mostly flow towards their quarters from the coal mixing machinery.

The residents live under constant fear that the health of their children may be jeopardised by the smoke billowing out of the coal mixing units.

Making matter worse is the indiscriminate felling of trees along the NH-39 stretch that passes on the eastern side of their quarters.

Even drying their clothes in the open has become a problem as the smoke invariably dirties the washed clothes, they added.

Talking to The Sangai Express, the Deputy Director of the Regional TASAR Research Centre said that the smoke emitted from the coal mixing units have a negative affect on rearing TASAR silk worms and the larvae.

As the leaves of the oak trees are exposed to the smoke, they turn poisonous which in turn lead to the death of the larvae which feed on the leaves.

The Regional TASAR Research Centre is set up under the Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textile.

To help solve the pollution problem, the Deputy Director said that he had submitted numerous presentations to the Manipur Pollution Control Board drawing their attention to the havoc caused by the coal mixing unit.

An application has also been submitted to the Chief Minister about a year back, he further informed.

When the officer concerned of the Pollution Control Board was contacted, the Deputy Director said that he was informed that a letter has been written to the Chief Engineer of PWD seeking a time schedule for the coal mixing units to be operated.

Suggestions to instal equipments at the units to study the level of pollution was also mooted to the Chief Engineer.

Till now the Chief Engineer of the PWD has not given any response to the intimation of the Pollution Control Board, said the Deputy Director.

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