Safe escape for bride as wedding venue floods
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, June 07 2025: Another unfortunate story of the ongoing flood has emerged from Heingang Mayai Leikai of a bride-to-be who barely managed to escape the floods on May 31, while her wedding venue was left inundated and the wedding gifts (awunpot) were swept away by the current.

The Heijingpot day (pre-wedding ritual) of the eldest daughter of Naoroibam Romila (46), wife of late N Sanjay of Heingang Mayai Leikai, was on May 31.Her daughter was getting her make-up done prior to the arrival of guests.

At the same time, the Imphal River banks got breached and started flooding the area.

As water entered their home, the make-up artists took the bride to a safer and drier location.

Safe escape for bride as wedding venue floods

However, the raging currents swept away the bride's wedding gifts, which were to be taken to the groom's residence.

The beautifully decorated wedding venue was also completely flooded, while Romila's house suffered extensive damages.

Romila's daughter could not hold her Heijingpot and wedding at her own residence.

Instead, they were forced to shift the location to her maternal grandmother's home (Romila's parental home), where both the Heijingpot and the wedding were performed.

At present, Romila is left to deal with the sludge and huge holes on the walls of her house, left behind by the flood.

Speaking to The People's Chronicle on Saturday, Romila conveyed that she operated a small tea hotel in her locality, while her elder daughter gave tuitions and her younger daughter weave clothes to support their small family of three.

Her husband had died in 2017 due to an illness.

Romila told that she had been saving up the money earned from her small tea hotel and the income from her two daughters for the wedding of her elder daughter.

As the amount fell short, she borrowed from others, and some people extended support for the upcoming joyous occasion.

She started repairing their house in preparation for her daughter's wedding, including setting up the decorations and preparing the wedding gifts.

Safe escape for bride as wedding venue floods

However, everything was lost on the day of the Heijingpot when the Imphal River banks were breached and water swept in.

On the morning of the Heijingpot day, the make-up artists had arrived and begun their work when the river started to overflow and the water began flooding their house.

It may be recalled that following the incident on May 20, AMWJU and EGM held an emergency meeting the same day and took out a rally till the Governor's Bungalow and submitted a memorandum to the Governor himself.

The next day, another emergency meeting of AMWJU and EGM was held.

The make-up artists immediately took the bride to her grandmother's house in Heingang Awang Leikai.

They had just managed to transport the important items for the rituals when the river breached the bank and water started flowing into their house and other areas of Heingang with full force.

Romila said that the raging currents swept away all of her daughter's wedding gifts.

Fortunately, AT members found the gifts and took them to a safer location.

However, the wedding gifts were all muddied and she could not gift them to her daughter.

Although her daughter's Heijingpot was held at her grandmother's residence with adjustments, Romila was heartbroken as she could not fulfil her daughter's wishes as the wedding venue and her own house were flooded up to waist.

Other than a few clothes they had managed to carry before the flood, her daughter could not take anything to her husband's home.

On top of this, Romila is unable to go back to her home even after the floodwaters have receded.

The current not only swept away many items but also left behind sludge and huge holes on the walls of her house.

The repairs she had done in time for her daughter's wedding are now useless, and she is now in debt.

She is overwhelmed and unable to think of how to rebuild their life.

She appealed to the government to extend assistance and help her family rebuild their house and overcome the sufferings left behind by the floods.