Deforestation, climate change take heavy toll on Thongjaorok River
Source: The Sangai Express / Ng Liklaileima Arambam

Imphal, September 06 2023: Giving a heartfelt testimony of the degradation of Thongjaorok River in Bishnupur, 80 year old Saikhom Mangi has lamented that the river which was once a source of liveli-hood for almost half the population in the district, is slowly disappearing.

The resident of Bishnu-pur Ward No 3 recalled that in his youth the seasonal rains in the months of Inga and Ingen brought deposits of sand, stones and gravel and the river ran throughout the year, even in the dry season.

But now there are no stones, gravel or sand and no livelihood.

Stating that he used to work in the riverbed mining sand and gravel, he shared that he fed and clothed all eight of his children through this work.

Now his son is also involved in the same business but it is getting harder to make ends meet.

Deforestation, climate change take heavy toll on Thongjaorok River

Supplementing his father's point, Mangi's son Saikhom Birendra (60) said that this year the rains brought some deposits of sand and stones.

But due to the unpredictable nature of rainfall, people who make a living through mining the riverbed have been grievously affected.

He continued that he began working when a truckload of sand and stones cost Rs 35.Now each truckload costs around Rs 2500 .

Highlighting the amount of people involved in river sand mining, Thongjaorok Quarry Association secretary Basanti (60) from Bishnupur Ward No 3 shared that most of the people in Bishnupur Ward No 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 have been involved in this line of work.

Despite being the traditional occupation of their forefathers, this work is no longer feasible for them.

Many have taken up other jobs including selling vegetables in the market, she said.

Basanti, who also used to work in the river bed, pointed out that excessive sand and gravel mining using machines has led to deepening of the riverbed.

So people started mining stones using machines at the river source and digging pits in the river bed to capture deposits of sand and gravel during floods.

Now Thongjaorok no longer looks like a river, she added.

In the past, the water of the perennial river was used by the villagers of Bishnu-pur, Nachou, Khoijuman, Kwaksiphai etc not only for household needs but also for purposes of cultivation.

Now, vegetable farmer Haobijam Moithap Devi from Khoijuman Ward No 1 has stressed that the crops do not yield good harvests in the dry seasons due to shortage of water.

Thus people have resorted to digging up the river bed using JCBs in their bid to have access to water.

It is worth mentioning that Thongjaorok River originates from an area roughly two kilometres to the west of Laimaton village which is located along the Laimaton hill range (1664 metres above sea level) .

The watershed area of the river is around 3334 sq kilometres, which includes the villages of Parengba, Bungte Chiru, Nungsai Chiru, Ngariyan Nungan etc.

The river passes through the hill areas for a distance of about five kilometres before finally draining into the Loktak Lake after passing through Bishnupur and Khoijuman.

Directorate of Environment and Climate Change consultant Dr Manichandra Sanoujam has said that the Thongjaorok River is controlled by geological structures.

In the past, boulders, rocks and sand were found abundantly in the river.

They helped in maintaining the velocity of the current and capturing water beneath the river bed/soil.

This in turn, improved the fertility of the soil in the surrounding areas and also helped in maintaining soil moisture.

Enumerating the reasons why Thongjaorok River is unable to maintain its flow (quantity, timing and quality of water flow required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems) during the dry season, Directorate of Environment and Climate Change Joint Director Dr T Brajakumar attributed this to the issue of deforestation and the larger problem of erratic rainfall brought on by climate change.

Due to these two reasons, the Thongjaorok River usually dries up in the dry season, he said.

Speaking to The Sangai Express, Bishnupur Forest Range RO Sukham Ratankumar said that the source of Thongjaorok River comes under Tairenpokpi Protected Forest area.

The villages in this area formed a joint forest management committee and launched a tree plantation campaign in 2010-11 .

However, they have not succeeded in forming such committees in Laimaton Thangbu and Bungte Chiru which are in the catchment areas of the river.

These villagers are engaged in clearing trees and other vegetation to take up jhum cultivation.

He also emphasized that there is a report highlighting a stark increase in deforestation and destruction of vegetation in the catchment area post the Naga-Kuki clash of 1992-93 .

Saying that the Forest Department has banned mining of sand and gravel at Thongjaorok River, he added that the department is also actively involved in spreading awareness on this subject.

Speaking on the topic of watershed or catchment area treatment, an unnamed LDA officer said that forests have been preserved in the catchment areas of the river from 1998 onwards and large ponds have been dug up in the watershed areas as water harvesting structures along with building of vegetative check dams.

Such treatments will help in capturing water beneath the soil in watershed areas.

It will also raise the volume of silt in the river water and reduce the speed of the water current, he said.

Stating that the current of Thongjaorok River used to be very strong, leading to large scale water wastage, he added that due to the numerous treatments mentioned above the speed of the current has come down in the rainy season.

Expressing hope that the condition of the river will continue to improve, he maintained that once all round afforestation in the catchment areas is achieved, the Thonjaorok River will become a perennial river once again.

In this regard, he has called for the support and cooperation of the villagers in the catchment and surrounding areas of the river.

This report is filed under Directorate of Environment and Climate Change's fourth media fellowship programme .