Windstorm, hailstone and downpour Trail of destruction
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The sky is still overcast and the weather office has said that rain accompanied by hailstorm is likely to continue for the next few days. When the first drops of rain started falling in Imphal on the adjoining nights of March 14 and March 15, many welcomed it for Manipur was beginning to feel the dry spell, with ponds and water bodies starting to go dry. However as things turned out, the gentle pitter patter on the ground and tinned roofs soon gave way to heavy rain accompanied by hailstones that left a trail of destruction in many areas of the State, particularly at Bishnupur, Kakching, Noney, Tengnoupal and some areas in Imphal West. The strong gust of wind that accompanied the rain ensured that power supply was snapped at many areas, at least in Imphal and this dragged on for hours. Even as this commentary is being penned down, information has come in of many leikais suffering from power cuts. March is generally not the wettest of month and heavy rains do not usually define this month, but not this time and even as the strong wind blew away the roofs of many dwelling houses in different parts of the State, many tinned roofs have been perforated, leading many to question whether Manipur will see a repeat of 2023 when tinned roofs went out of stock and its price sky rocketed. It was in drawing from the past experience that some conscientious individuals have come out in the open to appeal to all not to unnecessarily jack up the price of the roofing materials. A reflection of the reality that the Government has utterly failed to do what is expected of them and this has been the story of Manipur, not only during times of flood or drought but whenever an emergent situation arises. Even as the sky opened up, a number of young boys could be seen coming out to clear the khongbans to ensure free flow of the water and the debris pulled out from the khongbans should tell a story of how the people have been treating its natural waterways down the decades. If the rains continue, leading to localised flooding, then stories of the menace of plastics will return. A story that has been repeated down the years and a clear testimony that people are just not ready to learn. Don’t litter the place with plastic wastes. Don’t throw the used plastic carry bags into the khongbans. In short don’t litter public places with wastes generated from the kitchens or from the wrappings that come with goods bought from the market. Garbage trucks are there which come once every seven or five days in each and every locality. Collect the plastic waste in a bin or a sack and give them to the garbage trucks. Not at all a tall call to follow. Instead what one sees are plastic bottles, used plastic carry bags, plastic spoons and glasses thrown into the khongbans in each and every leikai. What is basically wrong with the mindset of the people ? Everything it seems. At the moment localised flooding is yet to be reported on a large scale, but come the rainy season, say May/June/July, then Manipur can expect to see clogged nullahs and khongbans leading to localised flooding everywhere and while one can expect talks and call to everyone to be more conscious of their acts, it will be back to square one once the Sun comes out and the rain stops.
This is not the rainy season. Monsoon is yet to come, but this is the time for everyone to be ready for that time when the sky opens up. And the first thing to do is to ensure that the waterways or khongbans and nullahs are not clogged with plastic wastes. Not a tough call to follow. Just don’t litter the place, especially when it falls under the category of public space. The best option would of course be for the people to stop using plastic carry bags. Carry one’s own bag while out shopping. This again should not be too tough a task, if only people get ready to look beyond their immediate convenience. The Govt too should start showing that it will stick by its decision. It was sometime back that a ban on single use plastic was announced in a big way. Imphal based newspapers were awash with information of Government officials checking the sale of single use plastic carry bags. All that now seems to be an exercise for some photo-ops with no follow up action seen. Something has to give. Show the Government is sincere in its ban on SUP and the public too should reciprocate.
This is not the rainy season. Monsoon is yet to come, but this is the time for everyone to be ready for that time when the sky opens up. And the first thing to do is to ensure that the waterways or khongbans and nullahs are not clogged with plastic wastes. Not a tough call to follow. Just don’t litter the place, especially when it falls under the category of public space. The best option would of course be for the people to stop using plastic carry bags. Carry one’s own bag while out shopping. This again should not be too tough a task, if only people get ready to look beyond their immediate convenience. The Govt too should start showing that it will stick by its decision. It was sometime back that a ban on single use plastic was announced in a big way. Imphal based newspapers were awash with information of Government officials checking the sale of single use plastic carry bags. All that now seems to be an exercise for some photo-ops with no follow up action seen. Something has to give. Show the Government is sincere in its ban on SUP and the public too should reciprocate.