It is Manipur’s sheer luck that the general population, abandoned by Narendra Modi government for more than one year two months of violence, have had to face nature’s fury one after another in rapid succession. First, it was the unprecedented hailstorm which created havoc in several areas of the Imphal valley on May 5. Besides destroying several homes and vegetable fields, the streets of Imphal and the suburbs were completely covered by big size hailstones like Imphal had received a snowfall. While experts debated on whether it was a freak weather event or the impact of climate change, Kuki handles in the social media platforms had a field day in mocking the fate of several innocent villagers and citizens in the valley, devastated by the hailstorm.
One cannot help remembering the iconic film ‘God must be crazy’ as the said handles ridiculed the valley people that God is punishing them. Well, they were offended by the frequent references to their traditional practice of deforestation and poppy farming by clearing vast swathes of forest areas which became a sort of anthropogenic impact or in simple terms human induced climate change impact.
The impact of climate change is measured in terms of decades and not in years, but the impact is hastened when supplemented by human induced interventions as the experts say. This fact, the minds behind the Kuki handles do not and does care to understand. And so, the ridicule in the social media. These weather events were completely unexpected in the natural order of things, although we had seen rainfall patterns in the last years.
In the last decade or so, Manipur has felt the impact of climate change and it has led to some state interventions. What one must understand is that, climate change is happening everywhere besides the question of how local factors are contributing to it and how we are taking up steps to mitigating the impact. Widespread deforestation and encroaching on reserve and protected forests do not help in any way.
The only concern nowadays is of widespread devastation of forest areas for poppy cultivation and the defiance to state intervention from certain sections. The practice of clearing vast areas of forest areas for poppy cultivation is going to affect the ecology of the state in both the valley and the hill areas.
Monsoon in Northeast India was supposed to start later, but it came earlier with a fury never seen before due to Cyclone Remal originating in the Bay of Bengal. And at the end of June, nature once again came to cause devastation in the form of floods. It caused landslides and mudslides in the highways and flash floods in the hill districts, most parts of the valley near the major rivers went underwater throwing lives out of gear and displacing thousands.
Most of the national highways were cut off by landslides and mudslides. Due to breaches and instances of overflowing at multiple locations along the Imphal River, many areas near the river banks in Heingang, Khurai, Singjamei and Thongju constituencies were flooded and also several areas of Imphal including the historic Kangla Fort and Khwairamband Keithel or the main Imphal market.
During the monsoon the River Nambul which runs through the heart of the city was the main culprit of floods in the Khwairamband area and adjoining areas of Uripok, Sagolband, Keishampat and Keishamthong area. However, the main cause of floods during monsoon in the main market and adjoining areas were because of clogged drains and encroachment in public spaces. This time, the main culprit is the south-western monsoon and heavy rainfall is causing floods in the Imphal valley once again.
The NDRF had to be called in, besides the valiant efforts of the army and Assam Rifles, of course volunteers from unexpected quarters. Once again, the Kuki handles have begun resorting to mockery and ridicule. They did not know that the weather event is causing untold sufferings and even death in places including those in Mizoram also. It is time, the Kuki handles understand that God does not discriminate whether one is Christian or not.
