SHILLONG: Marking the world Environment Day with a heavy heart, renowned columnist Rev HH Mohrmen observed that if the government falls back on introducing and implementing strict laws to check unregulated mining, the state will witness many dead rivers as is the case of Jaintia Hills.

Terming Jaintia Hills as the ‘Land of dead rivers’, Mohrmen said that the environment in Jaintia Hills is degrading to a large extend and this is evident from the dead and acidic rivers and streams ultimately leading to the dead of aquatic species caused due to unabated and uncheck mining activities.