Joy slams State's water management
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 05 2025: Veteran politician Okram Joy has slammed the State's water management which is marked by widespread floods during the rainy season and acute drought during dry season.

Speaking to media persons at his Kakwa residence today, O Joy said that Manipur usually receives seasonal rainfall three times in a year and the recent downpour was the first of the current year.

As two more seasonal rainfall are yet to arrive, the State may face two more floods this year, he said.

Once the rainy season is over, there will be no water in rivers.

No water will be available at the intake points of water supply schemes.

Joy slams State's water management

The situation of Manipur is characterised by extremes where vast areas are flooded when there is rainfall and almost the entire State faces drought or drought-like condition once the rainy season is over, Joy remarked.

Topographically, Manipur is surrounded by layers of mountain ranges.

Rivers, streams and springs originating from these mountains/hills drain the valley.

The climate of Manipur has changed drastically over the decades.

As a result, floods have become a regular occurrence whenever there is little rainfall, he said.

Notably, O Joy served as Irrigation and Flood Control (now Water Resources Department) Minister in 1990 .

He said that reinforcement of river embankments and dredging of river beds were completed by mid-April during those times.

Moreover, flood fighting materials were distributed to vulnerable places in advance.

At times of flood, Superintending Engineers were stationed at the spot, he said.

Since 2018-19 till date, the Government has sanctioned Rs 460 crore for dredging the Imphal River.

Moreover, additional funds also came from the Smart City project, the veteran politician said.

Saying that the Government of India has sanctioned enough funds to prevent and control floods, Joy asked as to why Manipur is made a victim of devastating floods every now and then.

He went on to question why river embankments must collapse due to pre-monsoon rainfell and why the State must face water scarcity during the dry season.

One major factor for all these maladies is the misuse of sanctioned funds, Joy asserted.

Had the sanctioned funds been utilised properly under strict supervision, the recent pre-monsoon rainfall would not have wreaked so much havoc, he said.

He said that he was reluctant to call the recent flood a natural calamity.

Even though huge amounts were sanctioned for dredging river beds and construction of retaining walls, the amounts were not used properly nor was there proper supervision.

In short, the Government did not implement flood control measures sincerely, Joy said.

Loktak Lake which is closely associated with the economy, history and culture of Manipur is controlled by NHPC and NHPC is always determined to keep the lake filled with water to its full capacity.

That was why they did not release any volume of water from Loktak Lake even though they knew well that pre-monsoon rain would be arriving in May, he said.

Had the NPHC released water from Loktak in advance, the recent flood could have been avoided or mitigated, he rued.

Waisel system, Chandranadi system, Kongba system and Naga Nalla system constitute the drainage system of greater Imphal areas.

Greater Imphal areas will always get flooded when any of these four systems do not function properly, he said.

Even if huge amounts are sanctioned under the Government of India's Jal Jeevan Mission, overflow from drains will continue to flood greater Imphal areas until and unless these four drainage systems are streamlined and improved, Joy said.

The Government of Manipur needs to prepare a masterplan for flood control and water management.

The Government must also institute an enquiry to fix accountability for the recent man-made calamity.

Apart from evicting encroachers from Waisel system, Chandranadi system, Kongba system and Naga Nalla system, there must be a thorough enquiry to check whether the huge amounts sanctioned for flood control measures were utilised properly or not, Joy demanded.

This will go a long way in controlling and mitigating floods in Manipur, he said.

He further underscored the importance of early and effective implementation of the Manipur Flood Plain Zoning Act and other provisions of relevant Acts.