[caption id="attachment_183205" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
Seen in the picture is an orchard submerged by mud floods in Phalong village in Tamenglong district.[/caption]
Tamenglong, May 15 (EMN): Atleast 35 paddy fields belonging to the people of Phalong (Bhalok) village in Tamenglong district, Manipur, were reported damaged since July 2017 following the ongoing construction of Imphal- Kangchup- Tamenglong Road (IKTR) funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), while all attempts of the affected villagers in reaching out to the concerned authority to redress their grievances were not paid heed to.
Phalong village is located some 9.4 km from district headquarters in the eastern side of Tamenglong under Tamenglong police station.
In an exclusive interview, chairman of paddy field affected association Phalong village, Ramliamang Panmei, disclosed that atleast 25 paddy fields were destroyed by mud and stones carried down by running water since July 26, while another 10 paddy fields were again destroyed this year.
Apart from destruction of wet fields (paddy field), orchards such as orange, pine apple, banana, litchi and other farms were destroyed by mud and other materials accompanying the running water. Moreover, fishes, crabs and snails were no longer found at Duiga and Atibak streams as a result of the on-going project at Phalong village.
The chairman informed that mud floods were caused due to the improper maintenance of the dumping site by the implementing agency. The construction was executed by VCCL under Hindustan Corporation Limited.
Ramliamang Panmei recalled that on September 16 last, SDC team had conducted surveyed and found that 25 paddy fields of 63.6 acres were damaged and cannot be cultivated again. The contractor engaged in the construction work offered to give compensation of INR 10,000 per acres for their damaged wet fields. However, the affected farmers have turndown the offer.
Even as the volume of hardships has increased on daily basis, the contractors/ implementing agency have not taken up any concrete measures despite support of the villagers to the on-going projects of road construction.
He narrated that the affected families want the work agency and government to understand the ground reality as the poor cultivators mainly depended on their paddy fields for sustenance since time immemorial.
While the whole villagers have welcomed the road and given support to the construction work till date, he lamented that the silence of the concerned authority have created confusion and doubt in the minds of the people.
While appealing the concerned authority to immediately compensate and other entitle benefit as per the relevant provision in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act 2013, the paddy field affected association Phalong village has warned to take up different democratic forms of agitation. They further warned that state government and work agency would be held solely responsible in the event of any unwanted incident.
