UKHRUL, March 14 (NNN): Hundreds of people in Yangwuikong Thoyee village in Ukhrul district of Manipur marched through the Thoubal River bank section of the tribal village registering a fresh protest against Mapithel Dam Project on Thursday.
Maphithel Dam Affected Villages Organisation and Committee on Protection of Natural Resource in Manipur today jointly organized a function at Yangwuikong Thoyee village to mark the International Rivers Day 2013 and later the participants staged a rally to protest against Mapithel Dam.
After the function, the participants numbering around 300 took out a rally on the Thoubal River bank at the village protesting against the dam project.
They held banners and placards reading “Let the Thoubal River Flow Freely-Review Mapithel Dam”, “No Review No Dam,” “Save Environment for a Better Tomorrow,” “Our Land is not to Plunder” and “Our Land is Our Future and Our Land is Our Right.”
Most of the speakers at the function said that neither the Manipur Government nor IFCD has ever visited the surrounding villages located on the fringes of Mapithel Dam.
They alleged that the dam will never supply proper electricity to the people of Manipur and the assurance given by the Government is false.
The dam project being taken up by IFCD has violated human rights and that the construction was forcibly started after the villagers were subjected to abusive and threatening by deploying large number of security forces there, they accused.
Sameer Mehta, Director, International Rivers, South Asia also spoke at the event. He assured the gathering that the issue of Mapithel Dam will be raised at the international level.
Participants at the observation function took nine resolutions regarding Mapithel Dam such as the Government of Manipur should resume the process of the Expert Review Committee on Mapithel Dam and a holistic impact assessment should be conducted on the dam.
They also resolved to demand the Government to stop militarization of Mapithel Dam site and to declare the verification of 2012 for Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Mapithel Dam affected villages as null and void as people’s consent has not been taken, and to stop the dam construction work till all outstanding rights and survival issues of dam affected people are addressed.