Body opposes ring road project through Ipum Pat
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, August 01 2023:
Ipum Pat Laiphamlen Kanba Lup (IPKL) has raised strong objection against inclusion of Ipum Pat, a wetland with historical and ecological importance, in areas to be affected by the proposed Ring Road.
Addressing the media at Manipur Press Club here on Tuesday, IPKL secretary Konsam Sanjitkumar said that the proposed ring road will severely affect Ipum Pat, and demanded the government to realign/divert the proposed ring road.
He said that the PWD is taking up the project amid the ongoing violence in the state regardless of repeated appeals to the government to exempt the wetland, which has been included in the list of affected areas published by the government on July 28, from ring road project.
As per blueprint of the project, the proposed width of the ring road along Ipum Mapal is only 24.6 feet with two lanes, which is not practical.
Besides, the blueprint also reserved the local road to a width of only 10 feet, which is highly impractical in such an area with dense population.
The proposed plan of the government will create serious traffic congestion in the area and lead to encroachment in the wetland in five to 10 years, he said while adding that the project lacks vision and proper analysis.
Sanjitkumar further said that Ipum Pat is one of the key urban wetlands in the Imphal valley area with historical and ecological importance.
Amid the global concern on vanishing wetlands, the state government is trying to wipe out the water body in the name of development and infrastructure.
Any attempt to enforce the proposed project affecting the wetland will be opposed fiercely by people of the area, he cautioned while asking agencies concerned to realign the route at the earliest.