Manipur: 30 villages live in fear of getting displaced

Locals are demanding that the government should take their consent before starting any project around the Loktak Lake and the nearby villages

Reported by Donald Sairem

Residents of as many as 30 villages adjacent to the famous Loktak Lake in Bishnupur of Manipur are now living in fear of being displaced and their livelihood robbed by the construction of a ring road around the Loktak Lake that is being proposed by the state government.

The locals, who were already forced to extreme hardships and suffering due to the Loktak Hydro Electric Project, the villagers are now demanding that the government take their consent before starting any project involving the Loktak Lake and the nearby villages.

To raise awareness about the need for the government to seek public consent about the viability and sustainability of the ring road, the villagers under the aegis of Loktak Project Affected Farmers’ Committee and other bodies have been holding awareness meetings.

Speaking to Northeast Live, secretary of the Committee against the construction of the Loktak ring road, Thoudam Hero lamented that the people depending on the Loktak Lake for their livelihood are kept in the dark about the proposed ring road.

He added that although the locals are not actually against the construction of the Loktak Lake ring road, they should be asked for their consent.

Hero also maintained that the area of Loktak Lake which was of about 100 square kilometre before the opening of Ithai Barrage by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. (NHPC) in 1983 has been increased to over 200 square kilometre after the commissioning of the Loktak Project.

In hindsight, most people in Manipur want decommissioning of the Ithai Barrage of the Loktak Hydro Electric Project in Bishnupur district.

Due to the floods caused by the expanding Loktak Lake, many people had to deal with tremendous hardships as several hectares of agricultural land were drowned, he added.

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