Sitharaman misses Manipur in flood relief allocation
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 23 2024: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come under scrutiny for omitting Manipur from the flood relief packages announced for four states, despite severity of floods that the tiny northeastern state experienced twice recently.

Sitharaman declared financial assistance for Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, leaving Manipur.

Manipur had been heavily affected by flooding, with at least four people dead, 13 injured, and over one lakh affected due to heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding caused by Cyclone Remal.

This was followed by another devastating flood a month later.

The first flood that occurred in the last week of May impacted over 1.26 lakh people across 255 villages, damaged more than 16,000 houses, and necessitated the evacuation of over 20,000 people.

The second flood, though less widespread, still caused significant damage in the valley areas, leading to inundation of several houses and vehicles, thus, also necessitating evacuation to safer locations.

The back-to-back floods also ravaged 522 hectares of farmland and resulted in around 300 landslides in the hill districts.

Additionally, a severe hailstorm in the first week of May caused damage to approximately 30,000 houses, killed at least one person, affected around one lakh people, and devastated hundreds of hectares of vegetable and crops.

Despite these extensive damages, Manipur was conspicuously absent from the Finance Minister's budget presentation, which promised flood relief and rehabilitation assistance to Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.

Moreover, the ongoing conflict in Manipur has displaced 60,000-plus people, 225 people lost their lives, and caused extensive damage to countless properties.

In-spite of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis, the finance minister's budget did not address the needs of the conflict-affected population.

This omission had drawn criticism from Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who took to social media platform X to express his disappointment.

"Absence thy name is Manipur, that's the budget speak! Nothing on flood and rehabilitation package for IDPs in the state!" his post read.

In her speech, Sitharaman emphasised the recurrent flooding issues faced by Assam due to overflowing of Brahmaputra River and its tributaries, and said, "We will provide assistance to Assam for flood management and related projects" .

She acknowledged the extensive flood damage in Himachal Pradesh last year, and promised reconstruction and rehabilitation assistance.

For Uttarakhand, she assured support for the losses caused by cloudbursts and landslides.

Sikkim was also included in the relief efforts.

Sitharaman mentioned Bihar's frequent flood problems, many of which originate from outside India, and assured financial support for projects worth Rs 11,500 crore, including the Kosi-Michi intrastate link and 20 other ongoing and new schemes for barrages, river pollution abatement, and irrigation projects.

"Survey and investigation of Kosi-related flood mitigation and irrigation projects will be undertaken," she added.

Union home minister Amit Shah also wrote on X: "The Budget 2024-25 stands out for its healing touch to the flood-affected states.

By providing much-needed relief to Bihar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim, the budget aims to rejuvenate these regions and make adequate provisions for flood prevention, reshaping the dreams of the affected people" .

But he was oblivious of the fact that Manipur too was affected by floods twice recently.

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