LDA Chairman inspects Pumlen Lake
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR

Imphal, May 15 2022: Chairman of Loktak Development Authority Asnikumar Moirangthem inspected Pumlen Lake in Kakching district today.

He was accompanied by Hiyanglam AC MLA Dr Yumnam Radheshyam and LDA officials.

During the inspection, M Asnikumar said that Pumlen Lake is an iconic and second largest lake of Manipur situated in Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency.

Unfortunately, the fate of this historic lake is on the verge of extinction due to the Loktak Hydel Project, he said and added that the greed of the people who have been encroaching upon the lakeshore for farming purposes is also detrimental to the lake.

The lake which is the main source of income of many lies between Mondum ranges in the south, Khoidum and Lamjao in the north, Burma-Sugnu road in the East and Imphal River in the West.

Chingjao, Chingkok, Chingmei and Hapcha are important islands of the lake.

LDA Chairman inspects Pumlen Lake

The lake which measures around 22 sq km has been deteriorating gradually since the construction of Ithai Barrage as a part of the Loktak Project in 1983 over the Imphal River, he said and continued that the Ithai Barrage obstructs the weeds of the lake from flowing down and as such 80 per cent of the lake has been covered by thick weeds leaving little space for the fishermen to earn their living.

He further said that this lake is home to rare migratory birds like meitingu, surit nganu, umu, chongkhu, ushai, tharoichabi, uren, thembi, uthum etc.

Earlier, the villagers used to catch plenty of fishes like pengba, sareng, ngakra, khabak, ngaton and porom, Asnikumar maintained and stated that people can only catch fishes like porom, ngachik, ngamu, ukabi, katala, ngapai, ngapemma and muka nga from the lake now.

The chairman also said that the presence of weeds in Chaithe Lake has been increasing dramatically since 2003-2004 and added that the lake may become extinct if not checked.

Claiming that most of the shore of the lake is dried in the winter season and it leads to less production of different vegetables, the chairman of LDA said that they will examine and find a feasible mechanism to conserve this threatened lake.

He also said that the LDA will adopt the mandate of 'Wise Use Policy' for this endangered lake.

MLA Dr Y Radheshyam also appealed to the dwellers of the lake to contribute to the conservation mission.As part of the inspection, the team also visited the surrounding areas of Pumlen Lake including the 13 channels/streams that flow into the lake.