Move to extend Loktak hydro project by 25 yrs irks fishermen

IMPHAL: The move seeking the Centre’s approval to increase the lease of the Hydroelectric Power Project in Loktak Lake for another 25 years has kicked up a row as the fishing community and several other environmental organisations have strongly opposed the development.

Located in Bishnupur district, Loktak is the largest freshwater lake in South Asia. It is a major source of living for the fishing community residing on the banks of the lake.

The All Loktak Lake Areas Fishers Union, Manipur (ALLAFUM), alleged that the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) did not consider the concerns of the state government and the thousands of fishing and farmer families affected due to the hydro project since its commissioning in 1983.

In a release issued on Saturday, ALLAFUM questioned the motive of NHPC for not informing the state-run Loktak Development Authority (LDA), the state government and the fishing community before approaching the Centre to increase the lifespan of the hydro project.

“NHPC went ahead without first addressing the four decades of ecological and human disasters due to the functioning of the man-made structure Ithai Barrage, which has been the bone of contention between the project managers and the people of Manipur for nearly forty years now,” it said.

NHPC must clarify their stand to the people of Manipur on how they propose to rehabilitate and resettle the thousands of humans impacted by the project and how they propose to bring back the natural status of the freshwater lake, which is now termed as an ‘ageing rapidly’ due to the engineering intervention by the project managers, the release added.

People of Manipur have suffered extensively because of the project, and the lives of the lake-dependent communities cannot be further exploited for another two decades or more, said the statement signed by the Union’s secretary Oinam Rajen Singh.

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