Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 13 2010:
Formation of an organisation christened loktak People's Forum has been announced during a media briefing at the Paona bazar office of Citizens Concern for Dams and Development.
Co-convenor of the newly floated body H Brojen Singh said objective of floating the Forum is to campaign for the interest of thousands of people whose sources of economic sustenance had been sizeably reduced after the Loktak Multi-purpose Project was constructed.
Apart from the Project constricting livelihood of those directly and indirectly depending on the largest fresh water lake of the region, provisions of The manipur Loktak Lake (Protection) Act 2006 threatens the very existence of people dwelling in and around the Lake, he said.
Highlighting that before and after commissioning of the Loktak Project large chunk of agricultural land had sunk which affected many families forcing them to live on the floating biomass and depending on the Lake for day to day survival, brojen said any restriction that is detrimental to interest of the lake dwellers would be opposed.
He also refreshed that prior to construction of the Ithai Dam, which is an auxiliary network of the Loktak Project, people settled around the water body as well as downstream used to eke their livelihood from the Lake.
Listing agricultural activities, collection of vegetables from the Lake and livestock rearing around Loktak as some economic activities of the people, brojen expressed remorse that construction of Ithai Dam had adversely affected or caused extinction of many indigenous fish variety and submerged vast cultivable land thereby shrinking economic opportunities.
joining the media briefing another co-convenor ningthoujam Rauhon questioned utility of the Loktak Development Authority alleging that inspite of existence of the State Government machinery there no sign of any positive development of the Lake or people depending on the water body.
He also posed whether mere installation of some LDA machines and attempt to chase away people living on the biomasses would bring about positive changes.
Regarding the State Government's decision to entrust an outstation agency like K Pro Company to work out and implement measures for protection of the Lake, Rauhon expressed that any agency ignorant about importance of Loktak to the settlers would not be able to either develop or protect the Lake and suggested involvement of the locals to achieve the goal.
Ridiculing LDA's concept that lake dwellers are responsible for the decadence of Loktak, he accused inefficiency of both the LDA and Government for the Lake turning bad to worse as nothing concrete had been undertaken to check flow of waste materials to the Lake from various points of the capital city.
Construing that enactment of the Loktak Lake Protect Act is another addition to myriad problems being endured by people living in and around the water body, the co-convenor pointed out that on effective enforcement of the Act even fetching of water from the lake would be a punishable offence for the Act prohibits entry within a core zone of 70.30 square kilometres of the Lake.
As measures being adopted by the State Government stand to compromise interest or livelihood of the people depending on it, the Forum has been formed to campaign against any move detrimental to interest of the people.
Forum member Salam Jiten highlighting draconian aspect of the Act said effective enforcement of the legislation would tantamount to reducing the status of the Loktak dwellers and its neighbouring dependants as 'internally displaced persons'.