Of Leikhom, Leinang and Uphul, Waiphul : Seasonal tale of Manipur
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 11, 2023 -

When it rains it is all Leikhom, Leinang and when it is the dry season, as it is now, it is all Uphul, Waiphul.

Not just a summary definition of the roads and lanes of Manipur during the wet and dry season, but these words should spawn the tale of Manipur in summer and winter.

Leikhom, Leinang is always accompanied by stories of floods, how standing crops have been swept away by the swirling water which have over flooded the streams and rivers running through the valley, areas of Manipur, stories of malaria and all possible water borne diseases with the erratic power supply making things worse.

The opposite or somewhere close to the understanding of opposite runs true when the dry season sets in.

Uphul, Waiphul is always accompanied with the water supply running low and the water pipes connected to the main pipes running by the side of the roads going dry for days, ponds and rivulets and other natural water sources drying up and one here is talking about Imphal and one wonders what the situation could be like in the hill districts.

Piped drinking water was the promise made by the State BJP in the election manifesto ahead of the Assembly elections back in 2017.

Nearly six years down the line and there is nothing much to suggest that things have improved.

No wonder private water tankers continue to do brisk business and consumers have no other option other than banking on them to supply the needed water for their domestic use.

There was a time when some enterprising folks would get together, buy a tanker loaded with water and sell them loose in the neighbourhood by the buckets.

This may have come to a stop for the time being but if things don't improve, there is no guarantee that such a practise would not return.

Take a look around and many would say that they have forgotten what piped water is all about, having relied on private water tankers all these years.

For some localities, such as Thangmeiband Polem Leikai, 2023 has been a dry year so far with not a trickle coming from the pipe that is connected to the main water pipe.

Water sources have dried up-this is one explanation that one gets to hear and this is where it needs to be seriously studied what steps the Government has taken up to address this point.

Manipur receives healthy rainfall in a year with an annual rainfall pegged at about 110.92 millimetres (4.37 inches).

This works out to about 161 days of rainy days in a year of 365 days.

Healthy rainfall, one would say and this is precisely the reason why almost all the households in the valley area used to have a pond.

The very point that almost all the localities in Imphal have a community pond should more than underline the point that Manipur receives a healthy amount of rain in a year.

One wonders why no concrete steps have ever been taken up to harness the water during the wet season all these years or decades.

The line that the dry season is synonymous with Uphul, Waiphul and the wet season with Leikhom, Leinang is an observation made in this very column many years back and the fact that this is being repeated today should demonstrate how much Manipur has moved on the track of development.

Not a comfortable thought, but this is the reality and water supply and power supply are the bedrocks for the progress of any place or a people.

Manipur comes extremely low down on this parameter and the primary focus of the Government should be on these two sectors.

A smart city, this is what Imphal aspires to be or has attained the requisites to be dubbed one, but when something as basic as water supply cannot be ensured then there arises a serious question.

And when water comes, it only comes for a few hours, and as stated in an earlier commentary here, the pressure is so low that houses which are situated some distance away from the road, are just not able to receive the water, except to use water pumps.

This again is easier said than done as water pumps need electricity to run and the same cannot be guaranteed when the water does trickle in.

Something needs to be done and something as basic as water supply and electricity supply need to be ensured.

Lest one forgets, Imphal is the capital of Manipur, a full fledged State.