Watching a dying river :: Part I

David Buhril *

A major intersection at Churachandpur Town , Manipur
See a 360 degree Panoramic view of Churachandpur Town here

Ignorance and extreme human recklessness has poisoned River Tuithra, the only river that runs through the heart of Churachandpur district and the lone recipient of the towns' waste. The dying river is taking a heavy toll on the burdened inhabitants.

Urban filth clogs River Tuithra (Tui - Water; Thra - good/beautiful); the only river that runs through the heart of a progressive district, Churachandpur in Manipur. Visible as well as unseen pollution- noxious chemicals from hospitals, deadly chemicals and fertilisers used by desperate fisherman to catch fishes for securing their livelihood, and the the pollution caused by the run-off of agricultural fertilisers has been snapping the life of the river that acted as the source of drinking water to many of the villages that snakes through them. The dying river carries caustic effluents, which has become a serious concern for many of the villagers who are totally dependent on Tuithra River for everyday use.

Today, river Tuithra stands still with plastic bottles and polythenes. Summer has once again dry-up the tributary streams and rivulets of Tuithra; causing water crisis in the ethnic-diverse district that has seen chains of tensions due to conflict over resources as well. Now, the only river that passes through the ethnically-fragmented district is in bigger crisis with itself and with the comfortably numb citizens.

The colour of the river water differs from village to village; playing havoc with the thousands of villagers who are dependent on the river water for every purpose. Sanga, a villager of Khawmawi village saw the signs early; "If we don't stop what we are doing to our only river, we will never realised that we are eating poisoned fish, drinking and using poisoned water. I have been a witness to the locals using fertilisers, chemicals and poison to catch fishes. The unthinking act is not a joke. I have seen the changes with the river; it scares me and it is time that we secure a collective resolution to save the river for our survival."

The writer, in the course of his research, once encountered dead fishes strewn in the river with their burst-out intestines. The reason: Fishermen drowned a load of fertilisers and chemicals the other day to catch fishes. The river fishes fetched a good price in the market, but the little knowing buyers did not know what was used to catch the fishes.

Besides the fishes, frogs from the river are widely sold in the local market. "First we feed the river creatures with poison and then we buy the poisoned creatures to consume. When will we learn that we will be the same reapers for what we sow?", L.T. Ngura, Chief of Thingchom village asked.

Concern with the way the "good" or "beautiful" river is being murdered, many of the armed groups of Churachandpur, currently under Suspension of Operation, have been issuing strong notice and sometimes warning not to use chemicals, fertilisers, gelatin or dynamo to catch fishes in the river. However, there is no stopping the heinous practise as the armed groups do not patrol the river and the uncaring fishermen leave behind no footprints in the river.

The concern for the life of River Tuithra from various layers of the society did not merely stem from mere blind assumption. Everyone is a witness; everyone is affected. The concern deserves a concerted proactivity to build a serious resolution towards saving the river for all time to come.

Many of the small tributaries that feeds Tuithra were also choked by urban waste in all its courses. There is no way the river could breathe a new life as the remoreseless inhabitants wrecklessly pollutes the river with everything at their disposal. Every waste flows into the river, carrying a lethal dose of poison. Besides the unthinking citizens, the district authority also dumped its waste besides the river that never gets flushed as the river has been standing still after the Khuga Dam was built with the tall promises of delivering electricity, drinking water and irrigation. The dam has virtually stopped the river from flowing.

This "Temple of Modern India" in the little known periphery was inaugurated by the celebrated UPA Chairman, Sonia Gandhi. The inauguration was synonymous with heralding the genesis of a dead river. "The dam stops the river from flowing. The romanticised 'development' has long taken a back seat, since then. Electricity, drinking water and irrigation remains a distant dream", Letpu Haokip added.

India's path to development will not be secure with the inauguration of the "Temple of Modern India" in this forgotten corner. Instead, the temple is slowly crumbling, generating man-nature conflict and man-man conflict as well. This is already evident in the marginalized periphery that is trying to come to terms with the after -affect of the modern temple. Under its vicious spell, River Tuithra dependent villagers will be the last worshiper of the modern temple as the snaking river stagnates with toxic wastes. While the local inhabitants are doing no justice to the river; the builders of the modern temple are far from delivering environmental justice on their part.

Sadly, studies have never explored the potential damage caused because of high fertilisers and pesticides used in the paddy fields that run off into river Tuithra. Moreover the urban wastes, chemicals and explosives used by fishermen has actually added fire to the dying river. The river dependent villagers have stopped seeing many water species that they often see before. Besides the rise in new and foreign water species, algal bloom in water due to the heavy influence of pesticides and chemicals has immensely increased.

Many of the locals believed that the poisonous river has increased mosquito breeding; pregnating them with strange and deadly diseases. The gutless inhabitants are currently threatened by the outbreak of cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and malaria in the district. Japanese Encephalitis used to be a foreign disease.

The district authorities have been desperately stirring up the campaign to immunise children till the age of ten years old from Japanese Encephalitis. The standing poisonous river Tuithra promotes breeding of crustaceans and insects, which are reservoirs for the JE virus. The concerned authories are yet to identify if the poisonous river has any relation with the burst of the new virus and cancer that remanins a threat in the non-descript district.

The End of Fresh Water

The poison-filled standing river never stood like it used to be before the failed Khuga dam was built. River Tuithra has lost its freshness as it has stopped flowing. Many of the villagers felt that the river need a thorough flush. When the water deprived district is on a water buying spree, the inhabitants are worried that they might be buying water from River Tuithra. Water, otherwise, is already a big business in Churachandpur.

"Everyone of us is buying water for one purpose or the other. It is alarming that it is never cheap", Thang Vaiphei told this writer. Water buying is a new affair in the district. The poisoned river is no longer seen as the life giving river. "It flows with everything unacceptable. It is merely a dump site", Joseph D. Hmar added.

The same river dependent citizens are the biggest culprits in polluting and poisoning River Tuithra. Moreover, the "modern temple" that stands in the mouth of the river has been stagnating the river in the downstream. The "temple" builders did not put in place measures to check the environmental impact the structure would have to the river dependent inhabitants.

Many of the growing conscious community believed that the dam builders are taking advantage of such laxity to pocket the incentives. Despite the structure that fails to deliver the tall promises, there has been no proactive efforts from any corner to give back the river its life. The state actors as well as the non-state actors are equally responsible for the uncalled plights that has generated bigger problems for the populace. Rivaithang of Thenmuol village wryly said: "We are helplessly watching a dying river."