IT News
Imphal, June 9:
Many paddy fields in various parts of the valley areas in Manipur have been devastated due to man-made activities. In the Eastern part of the Manipur valley, most of the paddy fields have been ruined by man-made artificial floods, while in the southern part, paddy field remain dry due to non-availability of water as some vested interested people in connivance with the government had blocked the natural waterways.
According to an organization of farmers called ‘The Protection Committee of Yaral to Gurupat Loukol Top, Kshetri, Imphal East District, paddy cultivable fields of around 35.5 hectors, located in between Yaral to Naharup area have been ruined after the area has been flooded with water due to error committed by the government department. Farmers are left with no means but to watch their fields covered with water during this cultivation period.
The protection committee said that the paddy fields are being flooded after the Directorate of Environment and Ecology constructed a ring-band at the cost of around Rs. 1 crore 70 lakhs in 2013 by blocking the natural waterway from the paddy fields. The other factor for the artificial flood is the Multipurpose Dam constructed by the Minor Irrigation Department at Naharup Khonjin in Imphal East without taking a second thought about the fate of the paddy fields. The dam constructed under the financial assistance from the NEC is 6 feet higher than the water level, informed a member of the Protection Committee. He said that the artificial flood that devastated the paddy fields at Guru Loukol (Cultivable area) is also caused by the dam.
The committee member said that complaint in the regards to the concern government authority bears no fruit.
On the other hand, in the southern part of the Manipur valley, paddy fields remain dry even after adequate rainfall during this sowing session. Around 250 pari of paddy fields in Kakching Khounou village in Kakching district remain dry after vested interested people occupied the natural waterway that supplies water to the paddy fields at Kakching Khunou Lamkhai area. According to farmers, the natural waterway was filled and block on the pretext of constructing a market hub at Kakching Khunou Lamkhai area. The market hub still is a far away dream but people who have money had occupied the area and filled the area with piles of earth blocking the natural waterway. When complaint some government authorities dug a canal diverting it to the northern side but as the area was higher the water failed to flow for supply to the paddy fields.
Some two days back farmers of the area staged a sit-in-protest and warn the authority of agitation if fail to reconstruct the natural waterway.
