NPCB officials urge Nagaland media to step up proactive environmental reporting as Dimapur and Kohima struggle with air pollution, groundwater depletion and other ecological challenges.
Nagaland pollution board urges media to take lead on clean air awareness
DIMAPUR — Clean air is a basic requirement for health and life, but Dimapur and Kohima have been classified among India’s non-attainment cities for failing to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Senior Environmental Engineer of the Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB), Aghali A Swu, said on Monday.
Swu was speaking at a workshop-cum-sensitisation programme on environmental rules and compliance organised by the NPCB in collaboration with the Dimapur Press Club (DPC) in Dimapur to mark the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies 2026.
The theme was “Clean air, healthy choices: acting together for people and planet”.
“Clean air is invisible, so we often take it for granted until it becomes polluted,” Swu said, citing the WHO Global Air Quality Report that nine out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air.
She said air pollution has also emerged as one of the major health risks in India.
Linking climate change with groundwater depletion, Swu referred to a University of Michigan study published in Science Advances, which found that rising temperatures have led farmers in India to increase groundwater extraction.
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If the trend continues, she cautioned, the rate of groundwater depletion could triple by 2080, threatening the livelihoods of more than one-third of the population.
She said groundwater depletion was already affecting farming communities through reduced rainfall, crop failures and economic distress, with some areas also witnessing farmer suicides.
“This is not just a problem of other states,” Swu said, pointing to Dimapur, where there have been instances of borewells being drilled to depths of up to 600 feet without finding water.
Sharing her experience of growing up in a hill town in Zunheboto district, Swu said she had witnessed numerous waterfalls and spring wells around her village, many of which have now dried up.
Having worked with the NPCB for 17 years and visited all 17 districts of Nagaland, she said the extent of climate change over the past decade was particularly concerning.
Swu called upon the media to play a proactive role in educating the public and raising awareness on environmental, health and climate-related issues.
She stressed the importance of journalists keeping themselves updated on environmental laws, regulations, scientific data and emerging challenges to ensure accurate reporting.
DPC vice president Bendangchuba Kichu said environmental issues remained underreported in Nagaland, with news coverage largely dominated by politics, press releases, law and order and other immediate issues.
He said environmental concerns often received media attention only during disasters, resulting in reactive rather than proactive reporting. Among the reasons, he cited the lack of easily accessible data, the perception of environment as a “soft beat” and inadequate training in interpreting environmental laws, pollution data and scientific reports.
Kichu said journalists had a responsibility to “make the invisible, visible” by showing how pollution affects people.
He called for greater localisation of environmental reporting rather than relying solely on global reports, and urged the media to act as a watchdog and bridge between the administration and communities.
He also called for closer cooperation between the NPCB and media, noting that the board had technical data and a legal mandate, while the media had access to communities and public trust.
He requested the board to provide regular, simple and timely information on air quality, pollution hotspots and preventive measures.
“When the board does that, we can translate them into human stories,” he said, calling for a continuous partnership rather than one-time programmes.
Junior Scientific Assistant at NPCB, Rongsenben Longkumer, said major contributors to air pollution in Nagaland included road dust, vehicular emissions, stone crushers, brick kilns, construction and demolition activities, sand stockpiles, firecrackers, firewood burning and waste burning.
She said the NPCB monitors ambient air quality in Dimapur and Kohima throughout the year using manually operated Respirable Dust Samplers. Under the National Air Monitoring Programme, the state has 11 permanent monitoring stations—seven in Dimapur and four in Kohima.
NPCB Scientist ‘B’ Akangmeren Imchen, speaking on water quality, said the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, was adopted in Nagaland on February 19, 1991, with the objective of preventing and controlling water pollution and maintaining or restoring the wholesomeness of water.
He said the state has 28 water monitoring stations, with 18 surface-water stations monitored monthly and 10 groundwater stations monitored half-yearly.
He expressed concern over the large number of borewells in Dimapur and Chümoukedima, which he said was contributing to groundwater depletion.
Domestic waste, spent oil from automobile workshops, riverbed mining and agricultural runoff were among the sources of water pollution identified. Mining activities in Mon, Mokokchung, Longleng and Wokha were also cited as contributing factors.
Scientist ‘B’ Mvudzeviu Shuya explained the E-Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended, and the responsibilities of urban and rural local bodies.
She said local bodies must ensure that e-waste mixed with municipal solid waste is segregated, collected and channelled to registered recyclers or refurbishers. They must also facilitate e-waste collection and disposal systems and conduct capacity-building programmes.
According to annual data presented at the programme, e-waste collection in Nagaland was highest in 2021-22 at 16.57926 metric tonnes (MT) and lowest in 2020-21 at 4.23 MT. In 2024-25, the state recorded 15.61187 MT of e-waste collection.