Recurring Floods in Manipur: A Natural Disaster or a Man-Made Crisis?

In just two and a half days, heavy and incessant rains have once again brought Manipur Valley to a standstill, inundating vast areas and triggering landslides across the hill districts. Roads have become rivers, villages submerged, and paddy fields and fish farms have been washed away. While it may be tempting to blame nature alone for this devastation, the truth is far more complex — and deeply rooted in policy failures and lack of long-term planning.
This is not the first time that Manipur has faced such a crisis. In fact, it has become a grim routine. Every monsoon season, the state braces for the inevitable: flash floods in the valley and landslides in the hills. The last two years were nothing short of catastrophic. In 2023 and 2024, the Imphal Valley was nearly submerged as major rivers like the Imphal, Nambul, and Iril breached their embankments at multiple points, inundating homes, markets, schools, and farmlands. Thousands were displaced, and the economic losses were immense. Yet, even after two consecutive years of severe flooding, little has changed in terms of preventive infrastructure or long-term policy responses.
While deforestation in the hills and the growing impact of climate change are certainly contributing factors, these natural causes do not fully explain the scale and frequency of the flooding. The root cause lies much closer to home — in the crumbling, poorly maintained drainage infrastructure of Imphal and its surrounding areas.
The drainage system in the Greater Imphal area is outdated, undersized, and largely dysfunctional. What was once designed to serve a smaller population decades ago is now overwhelmed by rapid urban expansion, unregulated construction, and poor waste management. Many natural streams and drainage channels have either been encroached upon or blocked entirely. During heavy rains, water simply has nowhere to go. As a result, even moderate rainfall results in waterlogging; during torrential rains, the situation becomes critical.
The hills fare no better. Landslides have become increasingly common, particularly along the National Highways and key transport routes such as the Imphal-Silchar and Imphal-Moreh roads. These landslides are not just the result of nature reclaiming its terrain, but also of human negligence. Large-scale deforestation, lack of proper slope management, and the absence of soil retention measures have all contributed to the increasing instability of these areas. There is no long-term strategy in place for landslide mitigation, and every year, the same stretches of road are cleared, only to be blocked again during the next spell of heavy rain.
Successive governments — whether under popular mandate or President’s Rule — have failed to rise to the challenge. Their response has been reactive, not proactive. Whenever a flood occurs, the administration swings into action: emergency relief camps are set up, rescue operations are launched, and temporary embankments are hastily repaired. But as soon as the waters recede, so does the urgency. Promises are made, committees are formed, but long-term flood management plans are either shelved or forgotten.
This failure of governance is what turns a natural phenomenon into a man-made disaster. The absence of a comprehensive water management policy, combined with unplanned urbanisation and rampant environmental degradation, has made Manipur increasingly vulnerable to floods and landslides.
The impact on livelihoods is profound. Agriculture, the backbone of the rural economy, has taken a severe hit. Paddy fields, which were ready for planting, now lie under threats. Fish farms, painstakingly cultivated over months, are endangered. For many families, the loss is not just economic — it is existential. Years of hard work are washed away in a matter of hours, and recovery, if at all possible, takes months.
It is time for the government to shift its focus from short-term relief to long-term resilience. Comprehensive flood and landslide mitigation strategies must be implemented, starting with revamping the drainage systems in Imphal and constructing proper embankments along vulnerable rivers. Reforestation and sustainable land-use practices must be encouraged in the hills, while encroachments on natural water bodies must be addressed with political will and legal backing.
Manipur cannot afford to wait for the next flood to act. The writing is on the wall — and it’s soaked with rainwater. Unless the state adopts a forward-looking and sustainable approach to managing its natural resources and infrastructure, floods and landslides will continue to destroy lives, livelihoods, and hopes year after year. The time for action is now.