A two-day national conference on recent trends in environmental pollution and health 2024 (NCRTEPH-2024) got underway on 28th November 2024 with an inaugural programme at I. Ihoshe Kinimi Hall, Lumami. The national conference is being organised by the Department of Zoology, Nagaland University, informed Peter Ki, PRO & Spokesperson, NU.
The Chief Guest, Prof. J.K. Patnaik, Vice Chancellor, Nagaland University released the souvenir for the conference. In his speech, Prof. Patnaik highlighted that the world was relatively free of pollution before the advent of industrialization. He raised an important question: why does Nagaland experience pollution despite its lack of industrialization? He explained that we live in an interconnected world, where environmental issues are not confined to one region.
Prof. Patnaik emphasized that pollution arises from a multitude of factors, including economic influences. He also discussed the impact of hydroelectric units on soil quality, underscoring how pollution affects not only humans and other living beings but the very fabric of the universe itself.
The inaugural programme was chaired by Dr. Lobeno Mozhui, Asst. Professor from the Dept of Zoology. In his welcome speech, Prof. Bendang Ao, Head, Dept of Zoology expressed gratitude to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India as well as Nagaland University for jointly sponsoring the conference. He also highlighted the importance of holding a conference on a topic that impacts our daily life and the need to find ways to tackle them.
Prof. Ranjit Kumar, Dept of Zoology, in his introductory note thanked the faculty and students who lent wholehearted support in organizing the conference. Pointing out that the conference is being attended by experts and scholars from other parts of the country, Prof. Kumar, briefly dwelt on the impact of pollution on health. He lauded the leadership role played by the Vice Chancellor in the establishment of the first cancer lab in state of Nagaland.
Attended by Statutory Officer, Deans, HoDs, Faculty, Experts, Administrative Staff, Research Scholars and students, the programme ended with the vote of thanks from Dr. Pranay Punj Pankaj, Assoc. Professor, Dept of Zoology.
