Imphal, June 04 2009: With World Environment Day set to be observed tomorrow, one question that is upper most in the mind of the people settled around Loktak Lake is which is more important : Protection of the lake or its Hydro Power Project ? .

As in other parts of the globe, World Environment Day will also be observed on Sendra Island of Loktak Lake in Moirang tomorrow.

Along with expected participation of the Chief Minister, his Council of Ministers and other MLAs, arrangements have also been made to organise a water festival on the occasion.

However, these arrangements and the expected high profile visit of dignitaries to grace the occasion have failed to amuse and lift the spirit of the people of the surrounding area who depend on the lake for their sustenance and have experienced the impact of the degrading environs of the lake down the years since commissioning of Loktak Hydro Electric Power Project.

With the balance on the pros and cons of the project tilting more to the side of the latter and the condition of the lake, regarded to be one of the most important natural wetland sites of the world, declining steadily, the local people have started wondering whether the Government has any concrete policy to save the lake from extinction.

Ahead of the World Environment Day, a team of mediapersons from Imphal visited the islets like Thanga, Karang dotting the lake and inspected the changing and degrading environs.

Although the Govt has taken up a Rs 500 crore project to clean up Loktak lake since last year, the media team have noticed that floating bio-masses (Phumdis) are still around growing in the stagnant murky water of the lake that has been reduced to a reservoir of the sediment and other filth draining down unceasingly by various rivers and their tributaries.

Giving his response to the question of which is more important, the lake or its power project, social and environmental activist Moirangthem Ashinikumar of Keibul promptly stated that if the lake is going to be extinct then its better for the power project to go.

''Loktak is our bio-energetic force.

Any change in the environs of Loktak would affect entire Manipur'', he said.

Pointing out that the present condition of Loktak has come about following the construction of Ithai Barrage as part of the Loktak Hydro Power Project, Ashinikumar sums up the current problem of Loktak as an ecological and environmental crisis which could not be solved either through engineering or mechanical approach.

Expert opinions have also been unanimous over rampant growth of Phumdis and disappearance of a number of indigenous fishes from the lake after its natural water currents had been blocked by the Ithai Barrage.

Over and above this, the sediment and other filth drained down by the rivers flowing into the lake, more particularly the Nambul river, have not only contaminated the water but also led to siltation of the lake surface.

Human activities like use of chemical fertilisers and insecticide/pesticide in the paddy field of the surrounding area that led to draining of the excess water into the lake is also to be blamed for the deterioration in the condition of the lake.

In order to protect the lake, the State Government had set up Loktak Development Authority (LDA) in 1987.But the effectiveness of the Authority in restoring the lake to its pristine character and beauty is still questionable.

Nonetheless, the current SPF Govt has been making some earnest efforts towards saving the lake from further degradation and a Rs 500 crore project has been taken up in this regard.

Regardless of all these efforts, no amount of funding pumped into it or hi-tech machineries employed would be able to save the lake without the involvement of the surrounding people.

There is also the need to strengthen LDA and co-ordinate related departments like Irrigation and Flood Control, Forest, Fisheries and Agriculture in the ongoing effort to save Loktak.

It may be noted here that Loktak lake is the biggest fresh water lake in North East India and is now a Ramsar site.

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