The District Magistrate of Eastern West Khasi Hills in an order issued under Section 144 of the CrPC has prohibited the use of chemicals in the Khri River and its nearby streams as well as burning of forests and grasslands in and around the villages falling under Ri-men area to prevent further damage to all forms of aquatic life and for the safety and security of the general public.
The order was necessitated following a complaint that some individuals used poisonous chemical substances to catch fish from Khri and its nearby feeder streams and another complaint informing that certain other individuals are burning forests and grasslands during the dry season.
According to the order of the District Magistrate, the application of such poisonous substances in streams contaminates the water and ultimately leads to the indiscriminate killing of all forms of aquatic life and that burning of forests and grasslands pollutes and destroys the environment and the ecology, thereby posing health hazard to the life of the general public.
Anyone found violating the order shall be prosecuted under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, added the order of the District Magistrate.
