COCOMI opens relief and emergency helpline
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 02 2025: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has set up a flood relief & emergency helpline at Khurai Lamlong Keithel to support victims of the ongoing flood crisis affecting large parts of the State.

COCOMI has also mobilized volunteers to assist with relief camp support, search and rescue operations and distribution of essential commodities, medical supplies, and other urgent materials to affected areas.

An 8-member team of COCOMI, led by its convenor, conducted a field survey on June 1, 2025, visiting various affected areas to take stock of the situation on the ground.

The team observed widespread devastation, with many households submerged, inadequate shelter facilities, and urgent shortages of food, drinking water, and medicines in several localities.

Despite early warnings and previous experiences with severe flooding, the response from the State Government remains slow, inadequate, and poorly coordinated.

The lack of preparedness has forced local volunteers and civil society organisations to take over critical rescue and relief efforts, reflecting a major failure in governance and disaster management, said a press release issued by COCOMI.

It has demanded immediate action taken reports (ATR) from all State agencies concerned; clear disclosure of relief package details and a time-bound and transparent rehabilitation plan for all displaced and affected persons.

It has also suggested the Government to establish a permanent State Disaster Response Task Force with trained personnel and rapid deployment capabilities, set up decentralized emergency response units in each district and subdivision, upgrade and maintain flood management and drainage infrastructure across flood-prone zones, implement a transparent and digitalised relief tracking system, with real-time updates accessible to the public, conduct annual pre-monsoon risk assessments and community awareness programmes, pre-allocate emergency funds with mechanisms for public auditing and accountability, and formally involve civil society groups in disaster planning and operations to strengthen Statecommunity cooperation.

COCOMI has also urged the general public, private entities, and unaffected State agencies to extend their cooperation by contributing in cash or kind to ongoing relief efforts.

Collective action is crucial to mitigate the suffering of fellow citizens in this time of need, it said.

One may contact the COCOMI Flood Relief & Emergency Helpline at Khurai Lamlong Keithel for donations, volunteering or assistance, it added.

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