Pollution chokes Nagaon’s Kolong River, experts sound alarm

Raha, Feb 6: Nagaon’s once-pristine Kolong River, once revered as the town’s lifeline, is now a shadow of its former self, choked by severe pollution.

The deteriorating water quality, caused by unchecked sewage, industrial waste, and reckless dumping, has put aquatic life in grave danger, raising serious environmental concerns.

Despite mounting evidence of its decline, environmental organisations and government authorities have remained largely silent, experts allege.

What was once a sacred river flowing through the heart of Nagaon has now become a receptacle for garbage, sewage, and even dead animals.

More than 10,000 households release untreated effluent into the river daily, while idol immersions and indiscriminate plastic dumping continue unabated.

The result? A foul-smelling, murky water body unfit for aquatic life, let alone human use.

Dr. Bipul Phukon, Assistant Professor of Fisheries Resource Management at AAU, Raha, warns that toxic contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and oil spills have already begun wreaking havoc.

“Fish ingesting these pollutants suffer from gill damage, fin and tail rot, reproductive issues, and in severe cases, death,” he explained.

Adding to the crisis, untreated drain water, cremation waste, and commercial pollutants have compounded the river’s woes.

Dr. Gajendra Mohan Dev Sarma, former Associate Professor of Geography at Raha College, has been studying Kolong’s pollution for years.

He describes the river as an “easy dumping ground” for municipal waste, particularly plastic, leading to severe degradation of water quality.

“The contamination has altered the river’s physical, chemical, and biological properties, impacting turbidity, dissolved oxygen levels, metal concentrations, and bacterial presence—including E. coli,” he said.

Shockingly, despite the hazardous state of the water, some residents along the riverbanks still use it for consumption.

The Kolong, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, stretches 250 km across Nagaon, Morigaon, and Kamrup districts, meeting streams like Diju and Misa along its course.

Once a defining feature of Nagaon, it now tells a tragic tale of neglect and environmental apathy.

With no concrete intervention from the government, district authorities, or environmental bodies, the river’s future remains uncertain.

Unless immediate steps are taken to curb pollution and restore its ecological balance, the Kolong may soon be beyond saving—along with the aquatic life that depends on it.