Loktak lake clean-up nearing completion
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 31 2014 : Restoring Loktak Lake to its pristine glory would materialise soon as 70 percent of the floating biomass (phumdis) removal project has been completed, said Loktak Development Agency (LDA) Project Director Longjam Bha-gaton speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of an inspection tour of the fresh water body today.

Out of the total amount of Rs 374 crore earmarked by the Planning Commission for the short-term project a sum of Rs 225 crore has been sanctioned upto now, said the Project Director.

While the project work assigned to hyderabad-based K-Pro Infraworks Private Li-mited in 2009 has covered 70 percent of the task including removal of 93 cubic metre of floating biomass out of the target of 132 cubic metre an amount of Rs 158 crore has been released to the work agency, Bhagaton detailed.

Stating that the floating biomass that remains to be cleared are man-made for fishing purposes, the Project Director also confided that the unfinished job is being continued by Imphal-based HVS Construction Private Limited.

A heavy machinery used for Loktak lake clean-up

Even though growing of floating biomass in the lake's core zone is a violation of Loktak Lake Protection Act the Government has nevertheless provided financial re- lief of Rs 13,000 each to phu-mdi growers/owners while the compensation amount is Rs 40,000 in case of evicting fishing-folk from their huts built on the floating biomass, he said.

Stating that inspite of time constraints K-Pro has execu-ted its assigned task appre- ciably, the LDA official noting that ongoing removal of the phumdis has improved condition of Loktak Lake also sought cooperation of those settled in the Lake's periphery to the Government endeavour for restoration of the lake's entity as one of the largest fresh water bodies in the region.

On recent controversy triggered by eviction of settlers/fishermen from Loktak lake, he opined that not consulting the fishing folk and taking them into confidence at the time of framing the Loktak lake Protection Act might have created certain misunderstanding between the Government the locals who mostly depend on the Lake for economic sustenance.

Regarding setting up of LDA under the Ministry of Water Resources, the project Director said contrary to its existence since 1983 as merely a monitoring/assessing body in the formative period the LDA with the consent of Ministry of Environment in 1994 has been executing its task as a work agency under the State Government.

Along with removal of floating biomass from the Lake LDA has sanctioned requisite amount for construction of sanitary latrines of those settled around the Lake, he maintained.

With the financial assistance of the Ministry of Road Transport and Shipping two inland water transport facilities, which were recently inaugurated, have been developed to shorten the distance of conveyance from opposite ends of the lake, Bhagaton said.

The media team led by All Manipur Working Journalists' union president Wangkhemcha Shyamjai also attended a specific event wherein LDA officials highlighted various development programmes through power-point projections.