Sky opens up in all its fury : Where are the khongbans?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 29, 2024 -

It is worrying.

The rain continues and it has been like this, non-stop since the night of May 27 and Manipur is reeling under the impact of the sky opening in all its fury.

Even as this commentary is being penned down, the full impact or reports of the damages is yet come in at the office of The Sangai Express but as things stand right now, that is in the evening of May 28, Irang bridge on the Imphal-Jiribam line has been swept away, with the pictures of the damaged bridge going viral on the social media.

Manipur has also seen a stationary but fully loaded truck plunging headlong into a deep gorge on the said highway and the social media is rife with video shoots of the plunging loaded truck.

Reports have also come in of landslides at different places on the Imphal-Ukhrul road, with passenger vehicles stuck at different points.

All major rivers that flow through the heart of Imphal are reported to be flowing high and many houses have been inundated.

Reports have also come in of the two most important hospitals in Manipur, the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) facing the brunt of the heavy and non-stop down pour with water flowing into many wards at the ground floor.

Parts of Shija Hospitals have also been inundated, with the road leading to the private medical institute coming under water.

The Secretariat, where all the important administrative works are conducted has also been flooded.

Minute reports or details are yet to come in but taking cognizance of the gravity of the situation, the State Government has issued an eight point advisory for the people to follow.

Stay informed are the words that open the advisory and it is important to note that this is followed by the caution to ignore rumours.

A helpline has also been given to round off the advisory.

The important point to be noted here is the need to not press the alarm button and remain on the alert.

Cyclone Remal, the cyclonic storm that made a landing at the Sunderbans of West Bengal on May 26 and wreaked havoc on its path, before the cyclone lost steam but brought with it heavy rain to lash the North Eastern parts of India, including Manipur with such ferocity, as seen on May 28.

How long the downpour will continue is not yet clear and the extent of damages it has wrought will become clearer in the coming days, but this is the second time that Manipur has had to bear the wrath of nature within a month's time.

Rewind to May 5 and one can still recall the heavy damages wrought when the sky opened up and rained hailstones and lashed the place, extensively damaging houses and standing crops.

Even as this commentary is being penned down late in the evening of May 28, there is no sign of the sky opening up and reports of water overflowing the rivers keep pouring in.

The result is, many houses have been inundated with all the roads in the leiraks and leikais being heavily flooded. One may expect unannounced power cuts at many localities.

Reports of landslides at different places in the hill districts have also come in, though all the reports are still not very clear.

How long would it take the State Government to repair the damaged parts of the roads in the hill districts remains to be seen, but one can imagine the impact it would have on the people there.

Significant to note too that the heavy rain made its landing here late in the evening of the day that the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur announced the Class X examinations.

Even as the rain continued lashing Imphal, one could see numerous parents, guardians and elders of the family lining up at the more sought after schools to get their children admitted.

Keeping the 'admission rush' in mind as well as the heavy rain, the State Government has issued a notification asking all schools to keep the admission process suspended till May 31.

Emergency response to an emergency situation, one may say and even as Manipur comes to grip with the loss incurred in the heavy downpour, that went on uninterrupted for 48 hours, it would help for all to think, if somehow the extent of the damages could have been blunted if the people had learnt to respect Mother Earth.

No way the rain could have been stopped, but its devastating impact could have been lessened.

Just think why almost all the leiraks stay water logged for such a long time.

Where are the khongbans?