Nishikant takes water shortage issue to Assembly

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 28: MLA Nishikant Singh Sapam has highlighted that Keishamthong constituency has been reeling under acute shortage of water since the drying up of Singda Dam, the main source of water for the constituency.
The MLA made this observation in the course of discussing certain demands on the floor of Manipur Legislative Assembly today.
Nishikant continued that Keishamthong AC is not only densely populated but also has a narrow drainage system.
Saying most of the ponds in the constituency have also been covered except for a few private and public ponds and maintaining the water level of these limited number of ponds has become extremely difficult, he maintained that the people of Keishamthong AC are in distress due to non-availability of water and have been spending considerable amount of money on purchasing water from private tankers.
Water is life, the MLA said and added that people may survive without good roads or power but water is indispensable for life .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019 on seeing the hardship being faced by over  2.5 crore families in contemporary India who don't have access to clean drinking water facilities, Nishikant continued and  added that the objective of the mission is to provide clean water facilities to every citizen  by 2024.
"I think there is fine coverage of Jal Jeevan Mission in Manipur," he said and maintained that he was elated to know that water from Chingkhei Ching has reached Keishampat and prayed for the success of the mission. He urged the Government to cover Keishamthong while laying the pipelines.
Conveying that deforestation is the primary reason for drying up of water bodies, he appealed to the Government to award exemplary punishment to those who fell trees without any authorisation in hill districts and let people know about the consequences of rampant deforestation.
"The water bodies will continue to shrink if there is no forest," he observed .
Nishikant also acknowledged the many development projects taken up by the Government such as preparation to construct concrete roads in Imphal areas and the changes seen in the State over the couple of years.
Saying that there seems to be lack of coordination between PHED and PWD while implementing projects at times, the MLA maintained that there were instances where roads had to be dug up due to lack of communications between the departments.
Drainage systems at Dhobi Machu Leirak, Nganapi Thong, Thouda Bhabok Leikai, Haobam Marak and other areas in Keishamthong AC  have been clogged by the  pipes, he added. Expressing keen desire to develop Lamphelpat  where migratory  birds flocked occasionally as a tourist spot, he added that developing a big water body at Lamphelpat would go a long way in developing the site as a tourist destination.