Five persons have lost their lives while 13 others have been injured in the ongoing floods in Manipur following heavy rainfall due to the impact of severe cyclone Remal. The five persons died during different incidents in Senapati (2) and Imphal West district (3) between May 28 and May 31.
A total of 1,26,950 people across 255 villages/localities have been affected;16,364 houses damaged and 20,504 stranded people evacuated across Manipur, according to the situation report of the Relief & Disaster Management Department issued on May 31.
The official report said 51 relief camps have been opened to accommodate the affected people. So far, 522 hectares of crop areas have been affected while as many as 292 landslides were reported in less than three days in several areas of the state’s hill districts. Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Imphal West and Imphal East districts while air force, navy and army personnel have been deployed in Imphal West district, it said.
Relief materials were distributed in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Jiribam, Noney, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati and Kakching, the report claimed. Water levels in flood-affected areas have been slowly receding in and around Imphal, the capital of Manipur. However, many localities — including those in Imphal West, Imphal East and Bishnupur — are still under water, even as fresh flooding was reported from Nambol in Bishnupur district as well.
Manipur’s water resource minister, Awangbow Newmai, said the state government is putting in maximum efforts to control the floods. Newmai added that the Imphal river — which flows to join a tributary of the Chindwin in Myanmar — was breached at 18 places, leading to overflowing, sliding and seepage.
There were breaches at four places along the Nambul river, which flows through Imphal city, leading to overflow. However, the breaches on both rivers have been plugged, Newmai said. He informed that as preventive measures, the state has announced two days of holidays for schools and colleges.
“One of the main cause of floods both in valley and hills is the illegal encroachment on both side of the streams and rivers whereby reducing the span of the rivers. Therefore, in order to avoid flood in future, public must obey the instruction of the authorities and build house or any structure at least 75 feet away from the river,” Newmai said in a Facebook post on June 3.
The Assam Rifles has stated that a total of 2,561 individuals — including 969 men, 992 women, and 601 children — have been rescued till date, according to a press release. Sixteen columns of the Assam Rifles also distributed food as packed hot meals to 2,050 individuals on May 30 and 3,000 on May 31, totalling 5,050 meals. The state police also rescued stranded people and distributed relief materials. On May 31, Chief Minister N Biren Singh — accompanied by state chief secretary Vineet Joshi — inspected the flood-affected Paona Bazar in Imphal. Biren Singh also shared a video on his Facebook page in this regard.
Union Home minister Amit Shah has assured all possible support from the central government regarding the flood situation in Manipur. Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each deceased due to the natural disasters in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each.
Release of alien fish
The Manipur government has constituted a nine-member committee to examine and study the escape of aquarium fish species into the state’s natural water bodies during the floods. The step has been taken in the wake of viral reports on social media about the escape of different aquarium fish species during the floods. “It is suggested that the matter may be examined and verified by a Committee of Experts constituted by fisheries scientists/experts from various scientific institutions based in Manipur for a holistic examination and verification of the adverse impact on the escape of aquarium fish species in the natural water bodies of Manipur,” H Balkrisna, director of Manipur’s Directorate of Fisheries, said.
The committee will consist of seven prominent fishery experts. The Director of Fisheries will be the chairman of the committee while the project officer of Fisheries will be the convenor. The detection of alien fishes in Manipur’s water bodies in the recent past have raised concerns among experts in the state. A one-foot-long Amazon Sailfish Catfish — also known as ‘suckermouth catfish’ — was caught in Bishnupur district in April 2020.
A few days ago, reports went viral on social media that alligator gar — a fish originating from North America — as well as Koi carp, originating from Japan, had escaped during the current flood into Manipur’s lakes and rivers. The state’s water bodies are increasingly becoming populated by alien fish species. Some of them have been let out for commercial purposes by the state while some have been released accidentally from captivity due to lack of necessary regulations.
“The emergence of alien fishes in Manipur’s rivers serves as a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the fragility of our natural world. It underscores the need for proactive measures to protect and preserve the rich biodiversity of these water bodies for future generations,” said Rameshori Yumnam of Manipur University’s Life Science Department in her article Unveiling the Invasion: Alien Fishes Spotted in Manipur’s Rivers.
“Only through concerted efforts and collective action can we hope to mitigate the threats posed by invasive species and ensure the sustainability of our precious aquatic ecosystems,” Yumnam added in the write-up which was published in local media. Seven native fish of Manipur have been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species report on the status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in Eastern Himalaya. The Eastern Himalaya covers all eight Northeastern states and parts of eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal.