Myanmar dam on border worries Manipur village

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.