Photo/video of Dumre River flowing overnight goes viral, what is the reality?
What you should know
For the past few days, a photo/video of the Dumre River in Palpa flowing at night has gone viral on social media. Although the police have shown interest in the issue of the river turning red at night, the local level, environmental agencies, and the local administration have not given importance to the issue.
A few days ago, a photo and video of a river flowing overnight from Upper Dumre, on the border of Tansen Municipality-8 and Tinau Rural Municipality-6, went viral. After the water flowed overnight in the Lower Dumre and Gaude Pul areas, where the river from Thimure meets, locals made TikToks, reels and other videos and posted them on social media.
According to locals, four or five years ago, Rajani Rana and Muna Thapa used to run a soap-making industry in Upper Dumre. It has been four years since the industry closed. Rajani and Muna live in Kathmandu after closing the soap-making industry. But a few days ago, when Rajani came home, she used to throw the color used to make soap into the water to get rid of the problem of children using it.
‘The damaged paint that could not be used was thrown away while cleaning the room,’ said Rajani, ‘I did not throw away the water knowing that it would last the whole night.’ She said that she threw it away without knowing that it would have any effect since it was a normal color.
The locals had informed the police after the water flowed overnight. Residents of the Lower Dumre and Gaude Pul areas also expressed concern that the water had turned red. Police Post Prabhas said that the water was then collected and brought to the lab.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Hom Prakash Chaudhary, Information Officer at the District Police Office, Palpa, said that the water had been submitted to the administration for testing. District Administration Office Officer Rama Shrestha informed that the police had brought the water. She said that lab tests could not be conducted at the District Hospital and the Food Technology and Quality Control Office. She also said that the water brought in bottles by the police was clean. She said that it should have been sent to the forensic laboratory, but it has not been sent yet.
She said that the police brought the water after it had turned red. ‘The water that was brought to us is clean,’ she said. According to knowledgeable industrialists, when the dye used to make soap solution or bar is poured into water, the water changes colors to red, blue, green, etc. This increases the pH level of the water to a high level, making it alkaline, which spoils the natural condition of the water.
'Such a chemical reaction can cause a red color to appear by reacting with iron or minerals. It reduces the oxygen level, which affects the fish in the river. Such water is also not suitable for drinking or irrigation for human health,' said environmentalist Yubaraj Kandel.
'It is very dangerous for human health,' he said, 'Fish in the river and other aquatic animals may be in danger.' He said that the local administration should immediately test the water.
