Blooming Shirui Lily misses crowd amid Covid lockdown
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, May 18 2021: The entire Ukhrul district is under Covid-induced lockdown this spring season.

But nothing could ever stop the much-awaited Shirui Lily from manifesting its natural beauty when springtime comes calling.

In fact, even as the district has extended the current lockdown to contain the rapid surge of infections until May 22, this world-famed bluish-pink flower is blooming in all its glory atop the Shirui Kashung hills, located some 18 km north of the district headquarters township.

Shirui Kashung, the only habitat of the unique lily, comprises a range of four hills namely, Shongshang, Sarumkateng and the twin hills called Shongrei which are the highest peaks of them.

Popularly known as 'Kashung Timrawon' in Tangkhul, the colourful bloom of the rare lily, invariably, is a sight for sore eyes.

However, as in last year, this time too, the only knock lies in the fact that there will be no tourists and visitors around to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of the blooming flowers, thanks to the ongoing stringent curfew measures currently imposed across the district to curb the second wave of the pandemic.

Blooming Shirui Lily misses crowd amid Covid lockdown

"Entry of tourists or visitors has been strictly prohibited because of the ongoing lockdown over Covid-19 and its safety protocols.

This is as per Government regulations to contain the spread of the deadly virus," said a Shirui local Wungsek Nick in an exclusive communication with The People's Chronicle on Tuesday.

"Same thing had happened last year also, due to the curbs on public movement in the midst of the pandemic," he recalled, adding that there would be no visitors around this year too.

He said that blooming of the lily has started from around last week of April and would last till June, but the peak season is till the first week of June.

According to Nick, a noticeable decline in the number of blooming flowers has been witnessed this year compared to that of the previous years, which he attributed to the recent massive wildfires that ravaged the heritage forests in March earlier this year.

"The flowering plants could have been decreased by around 40 per cent this year, compared with the previous bloom seasons," he observed, calling it as a direct impact of the fires.

He said that among the blooming plants, the tallest ones measured about 2 and half feet in height, while the shortest ones are about one foot high.

Young, tender plants of the lily had cropped up on the ridge-tops of the Shirui Kashung hills as early as last week of March.

The heritage site recently grabbed the headlines after massive forest fires broke out on March 25 last and devastated about 122 hectares of the thick, evergreen reserved forests over the course of consecutive five days.

The incident had also drawn the attention of the state government which had to press into service choppers to douse the raging fires.

The flames were finally put out on March 29 through concerted efforts of the state government, the district's fire brigade and police and locals.

The vegetation on the highest twin peaks of Shongrei and another mountain locally known as 'Saa Kaphung' (Animal Mountain in Tangkhul) and its surrounding areas had been totally wiped out by the fires.

Meanwhile, the current pandemic situation has also upset the applecart of the state government's plan for organising the annual state-level Shirui Lily Festival for two consecutive years.

It is a festival which not only honours the unique lily but also celebrates the cultural diversity of the state and is organised by Manipur Tourism Department coinciding with the lily's bloom season every year.