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Myanmar dam on border worries Manipur village
Context:
- A dam being constructed by Myanmar across a river close to the boundary becomes a reason of concern among border villagers in Kengjoi subdivison of Manipur’s Chandel district.
What is the issue?
- The topography of the area is such that the immediate villages will be submerged if the dam comes up.
- Moreover, the villagers, dependent on the river, are already facing water scarcity.
- This project will also have huge negative social, cultural and economic impact on the residents of Khangtung and other Indian villages.
Other controversial dam projects:
- In June 2015, a tribal village named Chadong in Ukhrul district was submerged by the Mapithel dam on river Thoubal.
- The Khuga dam south of Manipur’s Churachandpur town has hit turbulence too.
- Controversy has also dogged Tipaimukh, the mega hydroelectric project proposed on river Barak in Manipur 35 years ago.
- At least three anti-dam organisations in Manipur and downstream Assam have been protesting the Tipaimukh project to be built by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd.
- Apart from large-scale submergence, they fear ecological degradation if the dam is built.
Tuidimjang dam:
- The dam, called Tuidimjang, is on the Twigem river flowing into Myanmar from Manipur.
- Khangtung, inhabited by the Thadou tribe, is 137 km south of Manipur capital Imphal.