"The uninterrupted flow of power radiating from Loktak is transforming pastoral Manipur into an emerging industrialised state. Power, so vital for economic and industrial growth, will play a catalytic role in Manipur's overall development and in raising the quality of life of the people." – National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. (NHPC), undated publication on the Loktak project.
"Please find a way to destroy the Ithai dam, Loktak Lairembi (goddess) is angry." – A resident of Thanga island.
Few cases better illustrate the varied and often disastrous consequences that the construction of dams have than the Ithai barrage(1) on the Manipur river. The construction of this dam has had a devastating effect on the Loktak wetland and the people dependent on it for their sustenance.
The Manipur valley, originally a large wetland fed by numerous rivers from the encircling hills, is drained by the Manipur river (also known as the Imphal) to the south of the valley. According to the history narrated by the Meitei people, over a period of time the valley partially dried itself out and some of the people from the surrounding hills settled here several thousand years ago. The settlers then proceeded to harness the waters of the valley, channelling the major rivers into more permanent courses by the construction of massive earthwork dykes. Some land was reclaimed as permanent dry land for agriculture and habitation, some areas left open to seasonal flooding so as to facilitate wet rice agriculture and others retained as pats (pat = Meitei for natural water bodies). These pats or reservoirs of water have the capacity to absorb the annual monsoon floods and conserve water through the dry months. The largest such reservoir is the Loktak pat to the south of the valley, from where the Manipur river drains the entire valley. Regretfully, this is now almost the only such reservoir left, the rest having fallen prey to land reclamation for unplanned urban expansion, or fallen into neglect by the disintegration or deliberate disconnection of the feeder channels that replenished them.(2)
Loktak is situated 38 km. south of Imphal (93.46° to 93.55° E and 24.25° to 24.44° N). Isotopic data indicates that this wetland may date back to the middle of the last glacial period, about 25,000 years ago. Most experts agree that the entire Manipur valley, some 2,000 sq. km., was one vast wetland. With the passage of time, natural eutrophication, human settlements and agriculture meant that only scattered water bodies remained, Loktak being the largest. Loktak has shrunk from 495 sq. km. in 1971 to just 289 sq. km. in 1990. As part of this system, there are marshy areas and water bodies on the other side of the Manipur river. The pre-dam natural water rhythm of the Loktak ecosystem spreads over an area of 82.9 sq. km. during the lean season and expands to 275.52 sq. km. during the rainy season.
At an altitude of 768.5 m., the annual rainfall varies from 982.21 mm. to 1980.8 mm., from April to September. The Loktak pat acts as the only natural reservoir for the rivers and streams of the valley and the hills of Manipur. The main rivers that flow into the pat are the Nambul, Yangoi, Tagjoi Macha, Thongjarok, Ningthoukhong and Khuga. Loktak is the largest freshwater inland natural reservoir in the eastern region of the country and has been identified as a major Indian wetland by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. An important feature of this wetland is the aquatic vegetation, which covers a large portion. 86 species were recorded by B.M. Sharma (1999). Bhatia et al. (1979) listed 172 macro species: 14 floating, 15 submerged and five rooted-floating.
The areas around this wetland include Moirang, Lammangdong (Bishnupur), Mayang Imphal and the islets of Thanga, Karang, Sendra and Ithing situated within the lake. These areas include 65 villages and an almost contiguous stretch of phumdi land (floating vegetation) of about 40 sq. km. forming the present Keibul Lamjao National Park. The park is the only natural floating national park in the world and also the only habitat of the endangered deer Cervus eldi eldi known locally as sangai. The pat, comprising water, fauna and flora and the typical phumdi land (thick, floating vegetation), has to be understood in terms of the common property resources system. According to Chongtham Budhi Singh, the traditional inheritance of fishing rights was distributed through agnatic inheritance systems within a small community of traditional fisherfolk. Though the government, for obvious political gains, has de-reserved some areas to distribute them to the local people who are not traditional holders, much of the pat areas continue to be held, in practice, under the traditional system.
Other than the various streams, the other pats situated nearby are filled by monsoon water from the Manipur river, connected by the Khordak channel. The importance of the pat to the people of Manipur is such that without this wetland, the densely populated valley will be submerged during the monsoon and drought-affected in the dry season (De Roy, R. 1992). In 1997, the floods affected over 50,000 ha. of paddy-land and thousands became homeless. In August 2002, heavy rain pushed the lake to the 768.5 m. mark, while the water reservoir capacity rose to 518.75 million cubic litres. NHPC was so obsessed with maintaining the water level of Loktak lake to generate power that it overlooked the potential dangers of a flood. By the time the NHPC authorities were forced to open the gates of the barrage, it had already devastated the Manipur valley.
The Manipur river further downstream is blocked by the Sugnu hump, an eight-metre-high rocky barrier, which deflects some of the water back into the Loktak. During the lean season, the Khordak channel also served as an outlet from Loktak, maintaining a delicate balance of water levels. This was when one could identify the various pats that make up the vast water body of the Loktak. The barrage has permanently blocked the passage of water to and from Loktak, except when the dam personnel open the gates. There are reports of locals fighting for the sluice gates to be opened as it floods many areas surrounding Loktak during the monsoon.
The Ithai barrage on the Manipur river was constructed in 1979 as a part of the national Loktak multipurpose hydroelectric project. It should be noted here that the reservoir comprises not only the Loktak but also other pats on the left bank of the Manipur river. The water stored is transferred through a mountain range, west of the Manipur valley to the narrow Leimatak river, which is 312 m. lower than the Loktak. The barrage is 10.7 m. high with 5x10 m. waterways across the Manipur river.
The construction of the Loktak project commenced in 1971 under the control of Ministry of Irrigation and Power, as a central sector project. The project was handed over to the NHPC six years later and commissioned in 1983 at an estimated cost of Rs.115 crores, with a capacity of 105 MW (3x35 MW). According to projections, lift irrigation facilities were to be provided to 24,000 ha. of land. (Singh, T.H., 1993) and as in most cases of paradoxical 'multipurpose' projects, irrigation promises were never fulfilled. This dam has 'permanently' raised the water level of this wetland and has blocked the natural flow of water to and/or from the wetland, severely altering the hydrologic cycle of a delicately balanced system. Before the construction of the Ithai barrage, the natural dredging process continuously cleared the silt brought down by the various streams and rivers from the valley and the hills. The roots of phumdi and other aquatic vegetation during the lean season touched the bottom. During the monsoon, the water level and the vegetation rose, bringing silt up with it. Much of this silt was drained out through the Manipur river with the current, together with some of the vegetation or phumdi.
In the post-barrage scenario, the water level is sought to be maintained at a particular level throughout the year, resulting in the silting up of the wetland at an unprecedented rate. Other changes to the floating phumdi have led to the endangering of native aquatic vegetation, the extinction of native fish species and the thinning and proliferation of the phumdi, which now covers more than half of the total area of the present water body. Remote sensing studies conducted jointly by the Manipur Remote Sensing Application Centre and the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad (1999) shows that the area under phumdi has increased from 10,499 ha. in 1990 to 13,506 ha. in 1994. Consequently, the water mass has reduced from 15,441 ha. in 1990 to 7,875 ha. in 1995. According to the Survey of India, prior to the dam, in 1970, the water mass was 4,882 ha., with no indication of seasonal variations.
Water and Power Consultancy Services Ltd. (WAPCOS), Delhi, a consultant for the Loktak Development Authority (LDA)(3) , has pointed out that the rate of siltation has increased due to "jhumming, deforestation and unscientific land-use practices in the catchment areas". The present siltation rate is approximately 336,325 tonnes annually. This, as in the case of most reservoirs, is greater than what was projected during the project's conception. At this rate, the reservoir will reach Dead Storage Level much before the 160 years estimated in Loktak Lift Irrigation Project (Revised), Vol.1, May 1980.
Another problem caused by siltation, weed infestation and proliferation of the phumdi is the gradual reduction of water-holding capacity, which results in reduced power generation capacity. In addition to this, a recent study under the aegis of the government of Manipur found the water to be chemically 'unpolluted', but the levels of microbial pollution in the Keibul Lamjao area have increased beyond permissible limits for drinking water (Strategic Option Study, government of Manipur, 1999). This has been caused in part due to the faecal discharge by phum-dwellers and the decay of phum, but primarily due to the daily draining of effluents by the rivers and streams and agricultural residue, which is not washed off. This has major health implications for the local people who depend on the water for their daily requirements.
The Ithai barrage submerged between 20,000 to 83,000 ha. of cultivable lands. The government's estimate of 20,000 ha. is widely held to be an understatement and the 83,000 ha. estimate given by S. Ibomcha seems to be slightly exaggerated (Singh, N. L., 1993). A proper survey and estimation has not been conducted by any of the parties involved. De Roy (1992) estimates that 30% of the cultivable lands along the wetland got submerged and some 12,000 local people are now no longer able to use shallow fishing techniques.
It is impossible to stress how important the floating vegetation of Loktak is to the ecosystem and to the people as building material, food source and breeding ground for fish. With the construction of the dam, the level of eutrophication in the pat has increased dramatically. These changes have allowed exotic species such as the water hyacinth Eichonia crassipes to proliferate, choking waterways and reducing oxygen levels in the water. Prior to the construction of the barrage, the spread of vegetation was kept in check as the excess phumdi would flow out every monsoon through the Khordak channel.
The proliferation of aquatic vegetation has other causes too. The river that runs through burgeoning towns and cities brings in nutrients, including tonnes of garbage, toxic residues, fertilisers, etc. Interestingly, fertiliser consumption in Manipur stands at 94 kg./ha. as against the national average of 70 kg./ha. This run-off accumulates in the wetland adding to the eutrophication process.
The problems caused by the uncontrolled growth of aquatic vegetation vary from simply blocking navigation channels to other less perceptible ones. A reduction in open stretches of water results in lesser oxygen dissolution in the water, the suppression of phytoplankton and the release of methane consequent to the anaerobic decay of weeds. This hampers fish reproduction and growth. Interestingly, the World Commission on Dams' (WCD) findings indicate that greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs due to rotting vegetation and carbon inflows from catchments account for between 1% to 28% of global warming potential.
A unique feature of Loktak is floating huts built on floating vegetation. The tradition of human habitations on the floating phumdi vegetation is believed to have originated centuries ago. In 1886, the Manipur Gazetteer recorded that the wetland was dotted with floating islands used by the inhabitants for fishing. In 1986, 207 khangpok (a hut or shed) were reported on the phumdi. In 1999, the LDA put the number at around 800. This phenomenal increase has occurred in the post-dam scenario. There is no reliable data available on the number of families whose lands have been inundated, yet an approximate figure can be arrived at by observing the increase in the number of khangpok and the people who are now engaged in fish farms in the inundated areas. Many of the additional floating hut-dwellers are newcomers who were displaced from their traditional livelihoods by the project. The author's interaction with many of these people in the field confirms achange in occupation from tillers of the soil to fisherpeople. This increasing population now dependent on fisheries has created an additional demand on already depleted resources. Thus, both the depletion of resources and the increase in the khangpok population are primarily due to the project itself. The number of khangpok on the pat increased four-fold from pre-dam numbers. Research and accounts from the fisherfolk confirm that the fish population has also declined tremendously and that traditional aquatic vegetation, once a main food item and source of income, has largely vanished from the wetland. As a result, fisherfolk now have to market all the fish they catch in order to buy essentials, leaving little or nothing for direct consumption. Increasing population, a dwindling resource base and increased marketing of fish are having severe consequences on the wetland and its people.
The altered ecology of the wetland and dwindling natural resources has resulted in increased migration to towns and cities in search of employment. Earlier, the wetland was not a 'free access' resource for everyone, but rather a 'commons', governed by community laws and ethics. There are already signs of degeneration as the wetland turns into a free access resource, looked after by no one and exploited by all.
Picture: Salam Rajesh
This is a result of both government laws on common property and the construction of the dam. Traditionally, it was an accepted norm among the fisherpeople that fingerlings would not be caught, but today, nobody cares about other people or the pat. Anything and everything that can be consumed or taken to the market is extracted using any means, as each individual strives to catch and market as much fish as possible. Traditional methods are also being abandoned, with the fisherfolk switching from small cotton nets to larger nylon ones that enable them to increase their catch. Added to all this, the sheer number of fisherfolk has also increased dramatically with the construction of the barrage. This has led to the degeneration of the ecosystem and the social and economic condition of the fishing community. In any commons environment, when community laws break down, resource use can become unsustainable and destructive.
This is not to say that there has been a total breakdown of community life among the people of Loktak. There are still unwritten and commonly accepted laws to manage the wetland. The practice of extending help to others to lay large nets or repair their khangpok is still widespread. The fishermen have also formed a Fishermen's Association at Karang to protect their interests.
It is difficult to establish an income differential by taking into account the inflation over time – pre-1979 to the present. Nevertheless, the average of all the income pre-1979 compared to the average of the present income status reveals that the earning capacity of the Loktak people has reduced to a significant extent. The average daily earning of a khangpok family before the construction of the dam (only from December to April), was estimated at Rs. 903 while the present average income of the families works out to Rs. 355 a day. This marked difference in earning capacity is reflected by various indicators such as reduction in food intake and increased school drop-out rates. The rest of the months, and particularly during the monsoon, the catch is relatively reduced and the income during these months is difficult to estimate. Pre-1979 incomes comprised not only money from selling fish but also from edible aquatic vegetation. In the post-dam scenario, income from the latter is almost negligible as the traditional vegetation has been supplanted by alien vegetation, introduced as a result of the altered ecosystem.
The knowledge of the Loktak khangpok people about their wetland is vast and rich. They have an intricate knowledge of fish life-cycles, how different species from the river migrate to the wetland, what kind of food they consume, and in what season they reach the right size to be caught. They can also identify the presence of fish just by observing the colour of water! Identifying the natural vegetation of Loktak and of birds that feed on the water are second nature to them. Any changes or any new introduction of vegetation or waterfowl is easily identified. After the barrage was constructed, the face of the wetland has been transformed so much that many of the fisherpeople feel that they have been placed in alien surroundings and not the ones that they were once accustomed to. With their traditional knowledge rendered useless, their worth to the wider community in the state, and indeed to the administration has fallen, as has their status.
There is no available pre-barrage data on the quality of water. However, frequent complaints by lake-dwellers of sickness and skin rashes indicate that pollution is a very real threat. Residents fear that their only water source is getting contaminated and they will soon not have anything to drink. For a community whose life is centred on water, such changes have serious consequences on almost all areas of their life. Available data on the incidence of major diseases such as enteric fever, gastroenteritis, hepatitis and measles in the district of Bishnupur indicates an increase in the number of water-related diseases. According to research conducted by N.Y. Singh (1994) on the health status of Thanga island, 90% of the people in the study sample were found to be suffering from some degree of malnutrition, 64% of whom were mildly malnourished.
Picture: Salam Rajesh
Fish output from the wetland has reduced to the extent that local requirements cannot be met anymore. While the import of fish was essential even before the dam, this external dependence has been accentuated in the post-dam scenario. Areas around the wetland were once known for the excellent quality and quantity of rice they produced. But with the inundation of much of these lands, the people are now more dependent on inferior rice from other states. The implications are much more acute for people who have been relying on these professions directly for their living. The Loktak wetland is the main source for indigenous fish species for the entire Manipur valley. In 1992, it was estimated that almost 60% of the state's fish catch came from Loktak alone. More than 75% of the state's population consumes fish, which is the main source of protein in Manipur.
This situation has changed in the post-dam scenario as the breeding of indigenous varieties has been affected by the construction of the dam and the introduction of exotic species like carp and rou. Among the varieties reported extinct from Loktak are Labeo sera, Labeo angra, Labeo bata and Cirrhina (locally known as ngaton or khabak) and Osteobrama belangui (locally known as pengba or tharak). Together with the loss of indigenous fish varieties, there has also been the degradation of original varieties of aquatic vegetation, which has been substituted by alien species, to the detriment of locals who depend on indigenous species for their livelihood.
The reduction in fish availability has meant that residents now need to spend more time and resources eking out an existence and less attention is paid to health and family needs. Interestingly, one of the major health problems faced by women is muscle pulls on their thighs and back problems. This can be traced to the fact that more time is now spent fishing and the casting and pulling in of nets places a heavy strain on these parts. Back pain is also a problem among men. Parents have little time to attend to their children and to community life.
Malnutrition, overexertion, deterioration of water quality, waterborne diseases, unavailability of medicines, poor government health services and, most importantly, the acute reduction of earning capacity are the immediate causes of health problems among the residents. There are also indicators of psychological stress associated with increased insecurity about the future and their present impoverishment. Increased alcoholism among residents and high drop-out rates from schools point to some of the psycho-social impacts of the conditions created by the dam.
In July 1985, people of fifteen affected constituencies formed the Loktak Flood Control Demand Committee (LFCDC) to protest against the inundation of cultivable lands by the dam. In response, the state government constituted the LDA in 1986. De-silting and de-weeding efforts by the LDA did not address the problem, and in 1991, social scientists, activists and local people formed the Action Committee – Loktak Project Affected Areas, Manipur. The fishing community of Thanga village also formed an association called the Loktak Khangpok Fishermen's Association in 1992 to protect the social, economic, and cultural life of the inhabitants at Thanga island. In the same year, in view of the increasing deterioration of the socio-economic problems of the affected people, various organisations and academicians of the state constituted the All Manipur Ithai Barrage Peoples' Organisation (AMIBPO). The main aim was to mobilise people to pressurise the government to formulate mitigation measures. Recent developments include demands for compensation for inundated land by the Loktak Project Affected Peoples' Organisation. Under their initiative, the Guwahati High Court directed the government of Manipur to constitute a committee of experts to assess the losses and damages suffered by the people. The directive was carried out but the petitioners claimed that it was a farce and conducted without their participation. They approached the court again for a proper survey. The author participated (without invitation) in one of the pre-survey meetings by government authorities and found that they were only concerned with patta (titled) lands whereas a major part of the Loktak and its shore is primarily governed by the local common property laws.
While it is true that tribal or indigenous peoples are the worst affected by developmental projects, this matter also demands a closer look at both the internal and external material basis of these communities. In the case of the Loktak project, the conflict is a struggle for water rights and use between land-owners, higher-class people who are predominantly city-dwellers and those who live in and around Loktak. The benefits of power and irrigation from the project have gone almost entirely to the privileged sections of Manipur society.
A look at government data from 1976-77 to 1990-91 on agricultural land-holding shows a gradual alienation of the marginal farmers and a consolidation of land by the semi-medium and medium farmers or land-owners. The data shows that following construction of the dam (1980-81), the area operated by marginal farmers declined from 24.02% in 1976-77 to 21.6%, a loss of 2.4%.
The dam has further aggravated the problem of marginal farmers, increasing the khangpok population and placing further stress on the lake's depleted resources. According to the residents of Thanga and Karang, the permanent inundation of agricultural lands has resulted in a reduction of their earning capacity and has affected agriculture, their main food source. As a result, many of the farmers now have taken up fishing full-time. If this shift from agriculture to fishing continues, the consequences for the wetland's health will be serious.
In the case of almost any ecological disruption, women tend to suffer the most due to their multiple roles as nurturers and providers. In Loktak, a woman's work burden has increased as a result of the decreasing resource base of the common property. For a woman in Loktak, the burden of managing the household, the need to fish for longer hours and then market the catch is a much heavier workload than the man's, whose primary role revolves around fishing alone.
A study on the effects of dams will not be complete without a discussion on displacement and ecological refugees. If dams are indeed 'temples', people have definitely been sacrificed at the altar of the Loktak multipurpose project. The government does not officially recognise project-affected displaced people and so there is no known resettlement and rehabilitation. However, there are reports of the government handing out rice to some of the affected in order to placate them. It is an irony that fields or wetlands that can serve generations have been exchanged for a few kilogrammes of rice. In case of the Loktak project, ecological refugees whose farmlands were inundated had to take up fishing or shift to nearby towns and cities. The shift to fishing as a profession occurred earlier, while the migration occurred when fishing could no longer support families. No proper estimate has been done of the migration to towns and cities. Displaced populations of de-peasantised farmers and fisherfolk come to urban areas as daily wage labourers. Women usually become vegetable vendors at Bishenpur or Imphal market. On the opposite scale are those who have benefited from the project, which has resulted in a gradual social differentiation in rural Manipur (Singh, L., 1993).
As the wetlands deteriorated, the effects on the local people became alarming, even to those who earlier supported the dam. Various organisations and groups have been formed in order to look into the problem. Fearing the people's anger, the government also set up the semi-government LDA "to solve the problems of the affected people". The LDA's stated activities are the removal of silt and phumdi, control of hyacinth by releasing weevils, the construction of silt-detention structures, afforestation of the catchment area and soil conservation through engineering structures. Despite the LDA recognising some of the consequences of the Ithai dam, its main focus has thus far been on conserving the wetland by engineering means.(4) Little mention has been made of how the dam converted the wetland into an artificial reservoir in the first place, inundating large amounts of agricultural land. The LDA has also not given much attention to the people who have been devastated as a result of the dam, though there are recent signs of this changing.
The LDA has shifted its focus in some respects, as is apparent from recent recommendations at a workshop on management of phumdis in Loktak lake,(5) which was based on presentations by local people. They emphasised the need to open the barrage for eight months in a year (January-April and June-September) to clear the phumdis, control floods and wash away the silt and waste that had accumulated over the years. It also includes rehabilitating phum-dwellers, widening and clearing channels and streams to save the Keibul Lamjao National Park, etc. The reactions from stakeholders, primarily the NHPC and the affected people are yet to be seen. The opening of the barrage will also necessarily re-question the controversial proposal to construct the Loktak downstream project, which aims to re-utilise the water from the present Loktak project.
Conspicuous by its absence in the above discussion was the NHPC, which commissioned and operates the barrage and the day-to-day functioning of the project. There is a total absence of monitoring of the impact of the barrage on the physical, social and environmental effects by the NHPC. If at all there is any monitoring, it is on the hydrology and engineering parameters. Contrary to the perspective of the LDA, the Loktak Khangpok Fishermen's Association has as its main agenda the protection of the "social, economic and cultural life of the inhabitants of Thanga". Likewise, the Action Committee-Loktak Khangpok Fishermen's Association calls for compensation for the affected farmers. Rehabilitation and resettlement requires listening to people who are affected, in every sense of the term.
This article is primarily based on the author's M. Phil dissertation submitted to the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU, New Delhi, which attempted to look at the impact of the Ithai barrage on people who live on the floating huts of Loktak. Presently, he is researching the impact of the Ithai dam on people living downstream and around Loktak. He also works with Lokayan, an NGO based in Delhi.
- A barrage by definition is a gate-structure dam, differentiated from a big dam. The International Commission on Large Dams defines a big dam as one with a height of 15 m. or more from the foundation, or a height of 5-15 m. with a reservoir volume of more than three million cubic metres.
- Some of the most populated areas in Imphal such as Keisampat, Porompat and Lamphelpat, which are now heavily populated were all pats as the name suggest. These areas have been completely transformed for urban expansion.
- LDA was established under the Ministry of Law, Irrigation, Flood Control and Minor Irrigation to oversee the management of Loktak.
- Loktak. Newsletter, LDA, October 1999, Vol. 1.
- Held on January 22-24, 2002 at Imphal with the participation of affected people and other stakeholders.