Our Correspondent
Imphal, Jan. 11(EMN): Yongchak trees (tree bean) drying up on a large scale has been reported from villages in Manipur’s Senapati district bordering Nagaland in the recent past. This has forced villagers to search for various means to revive the dying trees.
Villagers of Ngamju, a village located about 130 km away from Imphal under Purul block in Senapati, expressed worry over the recent development in the village as a good number of Yongchak trees, a favourite delicacy in the region, had reportedly dried up for reasons unknown to them.
Ngamju has around 346 households. They depend on farming. Robinson, a resident of the village, told this correspondent that they were not aware of the actual reason leading to the trees drying up. Both aging and young Yongchak trees have been affected, it was informed. This has been happening since 2010 and has been worsening since 2014, the resident said. The phenomenon has created anxiety among farmers about the loss of family income, the resident added.
Manipur had been seeing Yongchak trees drying because of various reasons including insect attack, unavailability of water source, rise in temperature and lack of proper management etc.
As a result, locally produced Yongchak once disappeared from the Imphal markets at one point of time some seven-eight years ago after thousands of trees both in hills and the valley dried up. Since then the price of Yongchak in market has been on the rise too. Currently, Yongchak is being sold at Rs 100 for four to five pieces.
Yongchak Eromba or Singju, prepared with fermented fish, is one of the most sought-after dishes of the Manipuri during winter.
Due to suitable climatic condition and fertility of land, Yongchak from Ngamju are healthier and considered to have a better taste as well as high market value in Manipur towns, according to T Shangpo, a cultivator from Ngamju.
A Yongchak tree can earn between INR 20,000 to INR 30,000 in a year. A family having 10 trees can make a good amount of sales to run the family, Robinson said and appealed to the authorities in the state to send experts to find out the reasons behind the drying of the trees; a remedy can regenerate livelihood in the village.
Horticulture experts have suggested ‘proper and integrated approach’ for management of Yongchak cultivation in the state. Scientists are also exploring ways to provide remedies after they detected in the past Asian long horn beetles and another smaller beetles as the main cause of the Yongchak trees drying up.
Amid the worry, hectic preparation is on for the second edition of the Yongchak plantation festival at Makhan village in Senapati district. It was held from May 8-13 during the previous year.
