Our Correspondent
IMPHAL, JULY 25
For one last time, the villagers of Chadong in Ukhrul district on Saturday congregated inside the Chadong Baptist Church, to conduct the final worship service before the church would be submerged in water – just like the rest of the village.
A profound sense of sadness, even in the midst of such tragedy, envelops the whole village now that one of the oldest churches in Manipur, would go under the water.
“We have taken resolution today that the Board of Deacons of Chadong Baptist Church will approach all doors available for justice,” stated the pastor of Chadong Baptist Church, the Reverend L Ningthar, in a press release.
“We also urge all Church bodies to take note of this obliteration of a Church without the due process and to help to defend the sanctity of a Church,” the press release said.
It may be mentioned here that the Church authority or the board of deacons were not informed about the dam construction or the recent rise in the water level. Also there were no provisions of alternate space to build the church. The villagers have registered this as a serious and grave violation of the religious and cultural rights of the people.
“We also urge the government of Manipur to immediately safeguard and protect the existing churches and associated buildings until new places of worship are duly constructed for the villages under submergence with appropriate amenities,” the release addedThe newly constructed Chadong Government High School has also been submerged substantially. On the other hand, the people living in the upstream have expressed strong resentment against the authority’s failure to give due information before the dam gates were closed.
The Chadong villagers also expressed strong suspicion that the government decided to speed up the dam construction work forcibly based on an alleged one-sided report which says that seepage of water may exacerbate if the dam construction work is not completed soon.
The villagers maintained that the claim by the government authorities to have completed 95% of the compensation payment to the villagers was “only on government files” and that “the ground realities need re-examination.”
