Lukha River

In News

• Recently, the detoxing pilot project of the Meghalaya state has brought a Lukha river back from the dead.
  • Acid mine drainage, run-off from coal mines led to contamination of the Lukha river.

About

• The phytoremediation method was used to detoxify the river, where algae were used to remove major toxic contents from the water.
• The pilot project was undertaken under the District Mineral Fund after reports of low pH levels affecting the aquatic life in the river.
  • pH is a measure of how acidic/basic water is. The range goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. The pH of water is a very important measurement concerning water quality.

Lukha River

• It is located in the southern part of East Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. 
• It receives water from the Lunar river (Wah Lunar) and small streams draining from the Narpuh Reserve Forest and the undulating hills of the area while flowing down.
• The river is mainly fed by monsoon rain and flows in the southwest direction and later takes a southern path after joining the Lunar river near the Khaddum village. 
• The river passes via the Sonapur village and then into the Surma valley and ultimately ends up in the flood plains of Bangladesh.

Source: TH