UKHRUL, SEP 28: Tuithā and ENFOGAL observed World Rivers Day 2026 at Lungshang River on September 27, bringing together school students, college-going youth and community members to reflect on the significance of rivers and the need to protect them.
Tuithā, an initiative working to create spaces for cultural learning and medium for language learning, and ENFOGAL, an environmental organisation engaged in environmental awareness and conservation, jointly organised the programme.
The programme centred on this year’s World Rivers Day theme, “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life,” and explored the place of rivers in the everyday life, history and ecology of local communities.
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As part of the programme, Sareo Leiyachon, representing Tuithā, shared stories and reflections on rivers and water highlighting the ways in which rivers are embedded in the community lifeworld and community memory.
Patrick Shangh of ENFOGAL spoke on the importance of rivers and the less visible ways in which they are increasingly being polluted. He discussed the impact of plastic and other forms of waste on river systems, as well as the role rivers play in regulating water and the wider environment. The discussion also drew attention to how seemingly small and routine forms of pollution can accumulate and affect river ecosystems.
A key part of the programme was a storytelling session by Thotya, a local community knowledge keeper from Lungshang, who narrated the history of the Lungshang River, including its origins and its significance to the people of Lungshang and the wider community. He recalled how the river once played an important role in providing electricity to neighbouring villages through a micro-hydroelectric project.
Thotya YL Sareng also spoke about the growing threats to the river, particularly plastic pollution, waste dumping and sand mining in upstream villages, and the implications these activities have for the river and the wider ecosystem.
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The programme brought together participants ranging from children as young as seven to college students, along with others interested in the conservation of rivers and the environment. The discussions moved between environmental concerns, community histories and stories shared over generations, offering participants an opportunity to see the river not simply as a water source, but as part of the social, cultural and ecological life of the community.
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