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A man stands in a damaged paddy field in Phaibung Khullen village in Manipur.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Imphal, Aug. 18: Floods become an annual phenomenon in Manipur’s hilly terrain particularly in some villages under Senapati district bordering Nagaland in India’s Northeastern region since the last two years as in valleys of Manipur where flood becomes a regular cycle every year.
A heavy downpour on August 12 and 13 caused landslide and flash flood in the hilly Phaibung Khullen village, 130 km north of Imphal in the district destroying many paddy fields covering more than 300 acres, according to village sources.
Initially the rain caused landslide blocking the river near Chingai Khullen and Khunou areas and subsequently flooding a large area of paddy fields of the village which houses more than 700 households, says Kh Benjamin, secretary of Phaibung Khullen village. Now paddy fields belonging to around 100 households of the village have been completely washed away by the flash flood.
Four important hanging bridges developed to reach the village paddy fields and all the irrigation canals numbering around 50 were also badly damaged.
Apart from ravaging large area of paddy field, standing crops were inundated in mud and pebbles after the flood water from other side entered while trees and posts were uprooted rendering tremendous hardship to the villagers.
We could have managed if the incident happened in June or July, he added. But the situation is alarming as the incident happened in this time (August). Those villagers who lost their standing crops couldn’t go for re-plantation.
According to sources available here, generally every household of the village used to get 50 to 200 tins of paddy in an average in a season from their respective paddy fields apart from other seasonal horticultural and live stocks products.
On August 26 last year, as many as 22 houses were destroyed in Senapati district following heavy rain accompanied by landslide. Four days after rainfall with similar intensity washed away almost all the paddy fields of two villages-Sorbung and Ngatan under Tadubi block forcing the villagers to face untold miseries.
