Loktak fishermen object grants to LDA
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 18 2013: The All Loktak Lake Area Fishermen's Union, Manipur (ALLAFUM) has strongly objected the Short Term Action Plan (STAP) granted to the Loktak Lake Development Authority (LDA) and the reported extension of the plan till March 2014 by the Planning Commission of India to save the lake and its surrounding wetlands.

A statement issued by the secretary of ALLAFUM, Oinam Rajen said that the activities taken up by the LDA are totally contrary to well-established principles of the Ramsar Convention for the wise use of wetlands.

Pointing out that the Loktak fishermen have never come across State or agency that conducted spot visit to the lake or held interaction with the fishermen, the statement said information compiled by picking and choosing table job reports without any ground reality form the basis of the Action Plan.

Questioning the veracity of the monitoring and evaluation carried out by the Water Institute, Karunya University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, it pointed out that a sum of Rs 224 crore was sanctioned to controversial K-Pro Infra Works Private Limited for clearing 2361.21 sq km phumdis in the lake and it was reported that only 122.43 sq cubic phumdis had been cleared from the core zone of the lake that has resulted in shifting the phumdis from one area to another thereby releasing athapum by the fishermen.

Phumdi clearance has resulted in the increase of poor quality water and decrease in the number of indigenous fish like shareng, pengba, khabak, ngaton, ngamu and nganoi, it said, adding migratory birds like nganu kokngangbi, nganu thangong, meitungnga, thoidinglam, tahroichabi have been out of sight in the lake since the commission of Ithai Barrage.

The report by Wetlands International South Asia (WISA) does not truthfully reflect the results of a one-day Stakeholders' Consultation Workshop on "Draft Water Allocation Policy for Loktak Lake" held in Imphal on January 17, 2012, the statement added.

The increase in waterfowl from about 14,000 to 34,700 is a total eyewash to cover up the LDA's misdeeds and multi-crore rupees scam in Loktak lake in contravention to the Gauhati High Court order of Jan 25, it said while adding that such reports were prepared by the so called experts who never visited Loktak lake.

It further appealed to all stakeholders, including the Union Ministries of Environment and Forests, Fisheries, Rural Development and DoNER, and the local communities to verify the said report before any step is taken on the "pretext" of protecting and promoting the wellbeing of Loktak Lake by the LDA, Government of Manipur and Planning Commission of India.

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