Mapithel Story: Mystery Of Loss Of Lives

The Imphal Free Press, 30 September 2018

https://www.ifp.co.in/page/items/52423/mapithel-story-mystery-of-loss-of-lives/

The natural conditions of the Mapithel Valley were transformed into a huge ocean with beautiful view when the free flowing Yangwui Kong/Thoubal River was blocked in 2015. Yes, people are impressed with the new features of the region with the impounded water that attracts many people of Manipur from far and near and even from the outside world. The Mapithel Valley, which embodied cultural ethos for the indigenous villagers for time immemorial, is now completely turned into a different sphere where people can enjoy it for recreation, picnicking, merry making, spending leisure time, part time fishing, boating and others for study purposes. Besides this, some villagers in the periphery of the Mapithel dam reservoir are grabbing commercial opportunities through-out the year being the locations possess the potential of tourism and some are benefited by fishing activities.

Simultaneously, the other side of the Mapithel story is a series of incidents of mysterious drowning of lives that becomes a very common feature in the Mapithel valley. As per study record, it is found that the Mapithel dam water reservoir has claimed precious lives of nine persons so far since the coffer dam era. Two minors girls at the age of about 8 & 14 from Maphou Kuki village were drowned in the coffer dam period, an elderly person of about 70 from Riha village in August 2016, two sisters of about 4 and 7 years of age from Tumukhong in 2017 right behind the dam wall, a middle aged male of about 35 from Tumukhong in May 2018 at the water drop point of the dam spill way, one full grown up girl of about 28 of Risophung village on 29/7/18 at the dam site, one bachelor from Mayang Imphal on 12th August 2018 and another man from Keishamthong, Imphal on 30th August 2018 both were drowned at Ramrei portion of the dam reservoir.

Furthermore, other than loss of human lives, the Mapithel water reservoir has also led to mysterious dead of about 15 and 39 number of cows by unknown Epidemic at Chadong in 2016 and Ramrei in March 2017. As was reported in the newspapers, the massive dead of cattle were suspected to be due to change of natural habitat when their usual grazing fields were gone in the dam water. Besides this, as was recorded in October 2016, there has been massive drowning of herds of birds and bees in the Mapithel water reservoir. These were documented through photo capture and fact story narration by the settlers. It is further informed that such drowning dead of bird & bees are discovered almost every day. Such incident has larger implications of big threat to ecological balance in the region. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that, most of the indigenous river water species like snail, kongreng and different kinds of fishes such as Ngara, Ngawa, Ngamusangom, Khabak, kharaobee, Ngarinleina etc. etc. which were commonly found in the Thoubal River are extinct. The impact of such does not confined to dam reservoir area but affect caused beyond Litan portions of Thoubal River. Still another incident of such loss of living creature is, extinction of varied kinds of mushrooms in the nearby forest area of Riha village which were profusely found over decades have been totally vanished on indiscriminate deforestation in an attempt to substantiate the worsening economy of villagers when their main means of livelihood was shattered.

What really caused such loss of human lives vis-à-vis living creatures?

It will not be wrong to maintain that the current topic of loss of lives is in fact the counter-productive impacts of the Mapithel dam project. Firstly, Myth or real, believe it or not, depends on readers. As per narration by some old folks, lives of those nine persons in the Mapithel reservoir are expression of the fury of god and goddesses of the river areas and goddess of Shirui Kashong for their respective river-bed areas and path being spoiled and blocked by this dam. Secondly, in another random reasoning, the nature of water in the ocean form is more dangerous than in their natural free flowing river conditions. Ocean water has capability to wave object or human body into deeper zones with its regular movement. Situation of water in river form has better chance of safety as its current flows deep to shallow areas alternately. Thirdly, it can also be maintained that death of people in the dam water may be due to recklessness and un-mindful actions however, on comparative study, the death rate at this stage at least @ 2-3 persons every year in the post dam period is quite alarming which was never common in the entire history of the Mapithel valley before dam.

Here is one latest fact story of the first probable reason for series of death mentioned above which took place on 17th September 2018. Three youths from Imphal valley belonging to Meitei community enjoyed freaking themselves in the water reservoir using the locally made bamboo raft on the mentioned date at Ramrei portions. In spite of warning many times, they kept on rowing. Apprehending the danger they were about to face, the Care-Taker of the spot who was appointed by the village, scolded them with final warning. Right then they went ashore. Now the later part of the story is, the Care-taker was knocked down nearby a Pan shop in a mysterious manner. None could assure who knocked him down. On consultation with a local physician, it was vindicated that the god/goddess of the area attempt to take away life of one person among those three. So, it expressed it’s wrath when the Care-taker chased them out from the water. Fortunately, that Care-Taker survived on hairline escape.

It is worth mentioning that the arising sorrowful incidents of drowning human and other living creatures aggrandized the already inflicted Mapithel valley region with permanent menace of flood in the upstream and dry and scarcity in the downstream portion since the Yangwui Kong/Thoubal River was blocked to facilitate the project completion. It is very much remarkable that this counter-productive impacts bitterly sufficed the anguish situation in the area which has already created an irreparable lost of immoveable properties in the said Valley such as – land, forest, residence, homestead and river that virtually scraped the ecosystem jeopardizing the natural environment and impairment of survival sources of the communities.

Conclusion

In the light of the above discussion, it is pertinent to ask “How worth is Mapithel dam?” Can the target benefit of the project @ 7.5 MW of power, irrigation to 33,449 hectares of agricultural land and drinking water to Imphal area really compensate the precious lives of 9 human, losses of cattle every year, endangered ecosystem by massive drowning of birds and bees season after season, extinction of uncountable indigenous fishes and other water species? Other than loss of land, forest and other immoveable assets which come in terms of multiple crores of amount which are even one time loss in one sense, the loss and damages we are discussing in this article as a counter-productive impacts bears potentiality of continuous ocurrence as long as the Mapithel dam exist. On overview of the quantum of devastation, hardships to affected people and arising continuous counter-productive impacts without signal of preventive and mitigating measures, it is compelling to view the Mapithel Dam Project as a “Doom rather than Boon”, a destiny for ending lives of living creatures.

Finally, the project developer needs to take a serious note of the arising artificial calamities causing out of the Mapithel dam reservoir as counter-productive outcome rather than continuous insistence to commissioning the project. Furthermore, it can be maintained that unless serious concern is given and review the Mapithel dam project in time, communities living in the Downstream too may not be free from havoc like the recent flood disaster caused in the Kerala state where fault dam management was one of the main reasons.

(thmsontezonge@gmail.com)

30-Sep-2018 / Jajo Themson