Village leaders of Narwan and Sahkai have submitted a memorandum to Forests and Environment Minister James PK Sangma apprising him of the adverse effect of the presence of coke factories in the region, especially with regards to the impact they have on the cultivation of oranges.
Sangma had attended a World Environment Day programme at Narwan over the weekend and the villagers took the opportunity to apprise him of the deleterious effects the coke factory is having on the environment.
The factory is, according to the memorandum, located in Sookilo village. It began operations in 2020 and the smoke that it has since given off has been affecting not only agriculture but the people living in the area, especially children and the elderly.
Oranges from the area are “well known for their quality and taste in Meghalaya” but since the coke plant came up, strange things have been going on, say the villagers. They told the minister that their orange crop ripens earlier than normal now, which hurts their market value. The orange tree flowers oftentimes do not blossom properly, with the locals blaming the coke plant pollution for killing them off prematurely.
Other vegetation is also suffering from all the smoke and cattle are facing a shortage of food.
