Marangjing tragedy of 2022 revisited; compensation cry reaches crescendo
Ultimatum to stop all railways works issued
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 20 2023: For failing to compensate and rehabilitate people affected by a landslide that occurred in June last year, the Marangjing and Charoi Pandongba villages have warned the State Government and the Ministry of Railways of shutting down all railways related works in their jurisdiction indefinitely from midnight of February 21 .

The landslide occurred on June 29, 2022 at Marangjing and Charoi Pandongba village and it killed 60 people.

Marangjing falls under Noney district while Charoi Pandongba village falls under Kangpokpi district.

The landslide affected/damaged 73 acres of land at Marangjing village and 33 acres of land at Charoi Pandongba village, read a letter the two villages addressed to Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister N Biren Singh today.

Marangjing tragedy of 2022 revisited; compensation cry reaches crescendo

While a 9-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on July 20, 2022 between the Government of Manipur, the North East Frontier Railways and the affected villagers for compensation and rehabilitation, the MoU has not been honoured, said the two villages.

Meanwhile, the decision to shut down the works of the railways indefinitely was taken after the authorities concerned failed to honour an agreement the parties concerned reached on January 30 recently to fulfil the July 20, 2022 MoU, the two villages said.

The agreement to fulfil the MoU was reached at the office of the Hill Areas Committee, Manipur.

The villages had shut down railways' works in the region on multiple occasions due to nonfulfilment of the MoU.

Just recently, the villagers had shutdown NFR works from midnight of January 17 .

However, it (shutdown) was suspended for 21 days after the affected villagers reached an agreement with the NFR and the Government on January 30 .

While the NFR still fails to fulfil the villagers' demands and take responsibilities, it had earlier asserted that the Marangjing landslide was a natural disaster and it has no provisions to compensate those affected.

In the letter they wrote to the Railways Minister and the State Chief Minister, the villagers claimed that the massive landslide was "man-made" as a result of the North East Frontier Railways' construction works in the region and lack of impact assessment and proper precautionary measures.

The villages claimed a preliminary study by the Geological Survey of India's (GSI), Imphal Office affirmed that the Marangjing landslide was caused by "extensive slope cut for the construction of the railway station, presence of break in slope in the upslope area, affluence convergence of water and unprotected slope cut for long duration (from 2014 onwards)" .

The NFR had "ignored" GSI warnings.

Also, the area where the landslide occurred is a "highly susceptible zone," according to the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM) of 2019, they said.

The villages urged the North East Frontier Railways and the State Government to honour the July 20, 2022 MoU in letter and spirit for compensation and rehabilitation of the villagers affected by the landslide.