Journal of Environmental Biology

Pollution status and conservation strategies of Moirang river,

Manipur with a note on its aquatic bio-resources

­Laishram Kosygin*¹, Haobijam Dhamendra¹ and Rajkumari Gyaneshwari²

*laishramkosygin@yahoo.com

¹Lake Monitoring and Research Laboratory, Loktak Development Authority, Ningthoukhong, Manipur-795126, India

²G. P. Women’s College, Imphal, Manipur-795001, India

(Received: August 27, 2005 ; Revised received: February 05, 2006 ; Accepted: June 17, 2006)

Abstract: An attempt has been made to evaluate pollution status and aquatic bio-resources of the Moirang river near its mouth in the Loktak Lake. The river water is considered polluted as it has high concentration of free CO₂ (14.8 mg/l), nitrite-nitrogen (0.040 mg/l), inorganic phosphorus (0.107 mg/l) and faecal coliform bacteria (162/100 ml). Aquatic bio-resources of the river include 24 species of fishes representing 20 genera of 13 families and 16 species of macrophytes representing 14 genera of 9 families. The floral and faunal compositions of the river were mostly widely distributed forms that can survive in polluted environments. Fishery potential and conservation strategies of the river are discussed.

Key words:   Moirang river, Pollution, Conservation, Bio-resources

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