Urges Immediate Action on Flood Negligence
- 31st May 2025 :: United Meitei-Pangal Committee (UMPC) -

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Stop Flying, Start Acting: UMPC Holds Govt Accountable for Repeated Flood Negligence

United Meitei-Pangal Committee (UMPC), Manipur, expresses its strongest condemnation of the Government of Manipur’s continued failure to deliver timely and effective response to the recurring flood crises, including the ongoing devastation in Imphal East, Imphal West and nearby districts.

Once again, we are witnessing the same pattern - a series of aerial inspections, bureaucratic statements, and hollow promises, while the people on the ground suffer without adequate food, water, shelter, or medical care. What is being projected as a “multi-pronged strategy” amounts to little more than administrative tokenism and media management.

We must ask: What has truly changed since the last floods? Where are the results of the so-called “round-the-clock” monitoring?

Entire families have lost their homes. Livestock, farmlands, and livelihoods have been destroyed. Children and the elderly remain exposed to harsh conditions. And yet, authorities seem content with helicopter surveys that do little to address the lived reality of the people. The truth is simple: you cannot solve ground crises from the air.

The Meitei-Pangal community, among the worst affected, has consistently been left behind - reduced to footnotes in government briefings and statistics in damage reports. We refuse to remain silent spectators to this ongoing neglect.

UMPC Manipur places the following urgent and non-negotiable demands before the Government of Manipur and all relevant departments:

1. Immediate Ground-Level Relief: Relief materials - including food, drinking water, medicine, sanitation kits, and temporary shelters - must reach every affected family without delay. The suffering is happening now, and the response must also be now.

2. Full and Fair Compensation: A comprehensive and transparent damage assessment must be completed within 72 hours. Compensation must cover losses of homes, livestock, crops, and essential property. Delays in this regard will be seen as wilful negligence.

3. Independent Monitoring Committee: We demand the formation of a People’s Oversight Committee, consisting of civil society organizations, community leaders, and non-political representatives, to monitor relief and rehabilitation efforts and ensure accountability.

4. Permanent Flood Management Plan: Enough of the short-term fixes. We demand the implementation of a sustainable, science-backed, community-based flood prevention strategy that includes:

o Proper urban drainage planning
o Reforestation and catchment management
o Strict regulation of land use and construction in vulnerable areas
o Climate-resilient infrastructure in flood-prone zones

UMPC Manipur also expresses serious concern over the delayed and ineffective action of certain Deputy Commissioners and local officials, who have either ignored instructions or failed to execute relief efforts responsibly. We will not hesitate to name and expose those who fail to serve the people during this critical time.

This is not the time for ceremonial governance. This is the time for urgent, human-centred action.

Let it be clearly understood: We are not begging for help. We are demanding justice. The dignity and safety of our people - particularly of the Meitei-Pangal community - are not negotiable. If the government continues to ignore its responsibilities, UMPC Manipur will be compelled to initiate stronger democratic and legal actions to defend our people's rights.

We stand with our people. We demand accountability. We will not be silenced.

Raees Ahamed Tampak
General Secretary
United Meitei-Pangal Committee (UMPC), Manipur