The Umngot river in Meghalaya is one of the cleanest rivers in the world. The Ministry of Jal Shakti had once applauded the people of Meghalaya for maintaining the cleanliness of the river and further wished all Indian rivers were this clean.
Popularly known as the Dawki river which is 100 kilometre from Shillong in Meghalaya grabbed the netizens’ attention as they were surprised and happy to learn about an Indian river which is unpolluted.
About Umngot river
Umngot flows in Asia’s Cleanest Village, Mawlynnong village, close to India- Bangladesh border. The river acts as a natural divide between Jaintia and Khasi hills over which hangs a single-span suspension bridge.
In April, a 210 MW hydroelectric project proposed to be implemented on Meghalaya’s Umngot River was largely protested by the residents of the Meghalaya. While the Centre had allocated a grant of Rs 9800 crores to the North-eastern states under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) that aims to provide tap water to all households in the country by 2024.
But villagers feared the death of the Umngot river and their tourism-based livelihood will also end if this project is executed. According to the villagers and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of local pressure groups, the dam would affect the tourism industry in Shnongpdeng, Darrang, Dawki, and adjoining areas bordering Bangladesh.
While later, the State’s Power Minister James Sangma informed that the hydropower project on river Umngot was not on the government’s priority list and so would plan to supplement the existing hydropower generation with wind, solar or any other renewable sources of energy.
Opposing projects on Umngot, Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) president Allan West Kharkongor had said that discussions on the views of stakeholders on any future projects on the Umngot river will not be entertained.
Later in September, the Meghalaya government scrapped the agreement signed with private power developers to execute the proposed 210 MW Umngot hydroelectric project following protests. Earlier the state government had defended its plan to dam Umngot. A dozen villages downstream in the West Khasi Hills district opposed the dam proposed to have been executed at a site in the coal-rich East Jaintia Hills district by the cash-strapped Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited.
