Phumdi cleaning work given to K-Pro Works Pvt Ltd
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 24 2011 -

THE MULTI crore phumdi clean up work in Loktak was awarded to K-Pro Infra Work Private Limited which gave its address as Floor No A-104, Plot No 29, Sector 6, Dwarka, New Delhi.

There were large scale complaints that the existence of the company was dubious. The complaints were lodged to the Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC), and one of its members had brought it to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Accordingly the NHRC set up an investigation team led by a Deputy Inspector General which promptly went to the K-Pro office premises to check on its antecedents. They searched high, and they searched low but K-Pro could not be located.

What transpired though is that the Phumdi cleaning project began in 2008-09 and that K-Pro was established only in 2009. Obviously the investigation team must have smelt a rat at this indecent haste of settling the multi-crore deal and they landed in Imphal to put the record straight.

The issue could no longer be glossed over since news reports on the award of the work were carried by local newspapers, and had also been queried upon by the media in other parts of the country.

The Loktak clean up project, and its dredging has been a sentimental issue for most Manipuris. For Manipuris, Loktak is much more than a lake, it is one of the foundations on which our culture and tradition rests upon, tied as it were, in a symbiotic mould.

The dying of the lake would effectively mean the death of a part of our much cherished culture and history. On the other hand, apart from being a keystone of our tradition and folk lore, the lake is also a provider of livelihood for many whose lives depend on fishing in its waters.

This is the reason why the clean up project became a hot topic for discussion. There were many who wished to preserve the once pristine nature of the lake, and there were those who wanted most of the phumdi to stay, because they were fish nests, and the survival of the fishing community depended on their continued presence.

Environmentalists too had their say linking the phumdi with the ecology which supported wild life, the migratory type, and the Sangai and wild boar.

At the fag end chipped in the politicians, who, though they might find it near impossible to pronounce 'environment' and 'biodiversity', leave aside spelling them, ceaselessly harangue on these issues so as to garner votes.

In a heart wrenching revelation we are now being informed that a firm, whose very existence is being questioned, has been entrusted to shape the very character of Loktak.

This has outraged the modesty of the lake. And in a nightmarish situation our shouts for help are not being heard.

For most Meeties the lake which symbolises our culture and history, Moirang Kangleirol, is also symbolic of the legendary Thoibi. Seen from this analogy, Nongban had a better claim to the lake than the K-Pro, which so far is shy to show up.

Let us close ranks at least to keep away nonentities from dipping their hands in our lake.