Fear of flood lurks at Kyamgei Muslim
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 14 2019: Whereas large parts of the State are suffering from inadequate rainfall necessary for cultivation of paddy, people of Kyamgei Muslim have a nagging fear that they may face flood this year too on account of the highly worn out Imphal River bank in their area.

Social worker Wahidur Rahman showed the highly dilapidated section of the eastern bank of Imphal River at Kyamgei Muslim, Imphal East district to a team of media persons today.

Wahidur said that the eastern bank of Imphal River is always vulnerable at Kyamgei Muslim area.

Last year too, the river bank breached at Oinam Loukon leading to extensive flood in the surrounding areas.

If the river bank breaches again, Kyamgei Muslim, Keirao Makting, Urup and Arapti would be flooded.

Fear of flood lurks at Kyamgei Muslim

Over 2000 hectares of paddy fields located at Kabok Pat, Awang Pat and Tanakha Pat would be inundated, Wahidur said.

As the water level of Imphal River is rising steadily while its eastern bank is highly dilapidated at four/five points, people are afraid that they may face flood again, he said while drawing immediate attention of the department concerned and the local MLA to repair and reinforce the dilapidated sections before it is too late.

Recently, the local Pradhan and local villagers put in some earth to repair the particular vulnerable points but it was far from enough, he said.

On the other hand, Keirao AC is surrounded by Imphal River, Iril River and Kongba River.

As such, there should not be any shortage of water for irrigating paddy fields located within the Assembly segment, he asserted.

The Government's recent initiative of providing water pump sets to farmers did not reach Keirao, he said while asking if the Government was neglecting Kyamgei Muslim area because it is inhabited by a minority community.

Farmers have been drawing water to their paddy fields in their own capacity and they have started paddy cultivation and at the same there is a lurking fear that the paddy fields may be inundated by flood, he continued.

Urup, Arapti and Kyamgei are known for their fertility and they share a fair percentage of vegetables sold in markets but these areas are unable to produce vegetables to their full potential since the past few years on account of floods, Wahidur added.