Imphal, July 2: Homes are flooded in several parts of Manipur as monsoon rain continued to lash the state even as all major rivers were overflowing on Sunday. Water levels and water flow in Imphal, Nambul and Iril rivers of the state are still high. Several homes have been inundated after rivers overflowed, officials said. Large tracks of paddy fields and fish farm land are still under water in several places of the valley. At around 2:30 am today, the bank of Iril river breached nearly 200 ft wide at Kongba Irong of Imphal East following which hundreds of houses went under water in Thonju area. Works Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh along with a team of officials, including police personnel, led by Imphal East Deputy Commissioner rushed to the breached bank to help dam the damaged portion. IFCD Minister Letpao Haokip also visited the site to take stock of the flood situation. Several parts of the valley, including Imphal city area, went under water yesterday after heavy rain overflowed disrupting normal life. Many areas went into knee-deep water which remained stagnant till today. The water level of Thoubal river is rising persistently over the last 24-hours driving people who are settled close to the riverbanks into a panic situation. Low intensity breaches were reported from several places including Khekman, Moijing, Keibung and Leishangthem. The scenario is grim in Khekman where water spouting from a large numbers of small openings in the ground had filled residential areas and entered houses. Volunteers are currently engaged in building emergency embankments to thwart the incoming flow of water by piling mounds of earth which was procured by way of donation among themselves. The water level of Thoubal river has also crossed the danger level at Moijing Khongkok. At Keibung Mamang Leikai, residents were forced to temporarily close the main thoroughfare after rapid current of flood water swept away big patches of bitumen cover on the road which are though hidden from bypassers by the sea of flood water posing serious risk. The road connecting Thoubal and Leishangthem also became inaccessible. On the other hand, heavy rain caused landslide along Imphal- Dimapur, National Highway 2, Imphal-Ukhrul road and Imphal-Thanlon. Normal life was thrown out of gear in several parts of Kangpokpi district after heavy downpour. Landslide at Mongpijang and N Songlung villages on NH-2 of Kangpokpi disrupted traffic movement. Namthilok near Sangai along the Imphal- Ukhrul road witnessed landslides. To and fro movement from Thanlon was severely affected as the main road had caved in the middle at a spot.
