Published Paper Details:

Abstract: Manipur, the land festivals with rich cultural heritage bosoms with diverse identities of multi-ethnic myriad inhibited in every corner of the state. The state's captive scenic beauties of the green clad forests and hills where wild flowers roll in waves, lingering with free-flowing rivers and entangling amidst a small valley is a matter of vivid appreciation. Aesthetic apprehension will overwhelm one whosoever has a glimpse of the Nature's glory blossoming with the stretches of mankind's inhabitation. The rhythmic echoes of folksongs, folklores hymned at the festivals and rituals on the onset and the retreat of the seasonal cycle filled the air. A sense of intrinsic gratification will overflow perceiving it as 'fate' to be a denizen of this state. Lives, livelihood and survivorship is webbed with the nature and initiatives of untapping the natural resources need special concerns. Any act hampering the natural ecology plunders the lives of many thousand people. Manipur has many other numerous commissioned, planned and proposed Dams/Multipurpose Projects. The 105 Mega Watt (MW) Loktak Project, the Khuga Dam, the Singda Dam, the Khoupum Dam, Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydro Electric Project (HEP), Khongnem Chakha Dam, Pabram HEP, the Mapithel Dam/Thoubal Multipurpose Project etc, caused massive internal displacements. Vast tracts of land have been submerged in the upstream villages while leading to desertification in the downstream villages. Homesteads, houses, farms, schools, churches, community buildings, standing trees, forest, personal and many community belongings are being submerged in the upstream villages. Displaced Chadong villagre of Mapithel Dam is one glaring example. In the downstream village of the same dam, their livelihood is mainly claimed by the Thoubal small scale sand mining on the river bank. However, after the construction of the dam, the river bed dried up scarcity of resources reeled in the villages. Tumukhong is one such example. Nothing less is the impact Khuga Dam to its affected villagers. The farmers along the stretch of the Khuga Dam irrigation canal is unleased with hardships due to its frequent breach. water supply from the dam is unsatisfactory. Not even a single unit of electricity is generated from this dam, that cost more than 400 crores of public fund, submerging vast tracts of fertile land at the same time leading to desertification of many villages. The paper will be an attempt to explore how multipurpose project implementation plundered the ecology and natural environment generating social disorganisation.