IMPHAL August 3: The JAC for Mapithel Dam Downstream Affected People has set up a relief camp at TC Pokpi foothills for the dam affected villages located in the immediate downstream areas as the villagers continue to wait for government to look into their plights.
A media team today visited the displaced downstream population and the dam site.
Residents of at least four villages in the immediate downstream area Tumakhok, Moirangpurel, Itham and Laikhong have evacuated from their villages following the recent reports of the leaks in the dam.
The media team found that relief camps have also been set up at the Meitei Nongdam. Others were found taking shelter in the local primary schools and meira shangs.
The team also found temporary makeshift dwelling camps lining up the higher foothills and line of trucks serving as the sleeping spaces of the displaced families.
All 1614 residents from 266 households of Tumakhok Village have evacuated their village following the reports of the leakages on the dam. They are now bundled in five relief camps set up.
A villager lamented our MLA and some NGOs have visited us with food and other supplies, but neither the concern minister nor the district administration have come to our rescue.
Speaking to the media team at the dam site, the concern superintending engineer Kshetrimayum Pritam insisted the dam is safe and the officials concern are cautiously monitoring and managing the water level of the dam.
Other officials including executive engineer Irom Mohindro and assistant engineer L Tamocharoi made the same observation.
They said they are releasing the dam water via the water conductor system at 14 cubic meter per second and through the pipeline at 5 cubic meter per second.
The officials also claimed that the dam stands at 876 meters at the moment which is just two meters above the spillways which are located at 874 meters.
It is also learnt that both the vertical and the horizontal filters are yet to be installed.
The media team could also observe that about a hundred of labourers were seen filling fresh mud to fill the seepages of the dam.