NNN
Imphal, March 26
Delayed rainfall, lack of attention from the government and lack of awareness of the public has led to acute scarcity of water in Manipur. The water situation in Manipur has become so critical nowadays that even buying water tankers in private, as done normally before, has become difficult. Most of the water bodies in the state including rivers, ponds, lakes etc have dried up. Even though monsoon usually arrived in the state around the time of Yaoshang every year, there was not a single drizzle around that time and still has not received rainfall even if it’s the end of March.One trip to the lanes and streets of Manipur, and there will be queue of water pots, bottles etc nearby any water bodies and open taps. Private individuals, who pumped up water from the rivers in their trucks and sell it, can not do it anymore as local clubs and associations stop this practice. This works in both ways as this ensured water availability in the particular area but pose problem to those people who want to buy water though tankers at any cost.
Department concerned of the state government has not taken up any significant step in this matter, except few appeals for economical use of water through newspapers and radio, and meek attempts to distribute water with mobile vehicles. These steps are not helping much to the water problem of the public. Meanwhile, local clubs and associations have even started resorting to mike campaigns spreading awareness to the public for economic use of water and modes of harvesting, if monsoon arrives luckily at the earliest.
