Maiba Khul
12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency in Imphal East

Daniel Chabungbam *

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

Inhabited by some 700 people, Maiba Khul in Imphal East District began its first settlement some 300 years ago by seven Maibas from different places coming to the place and settle here, according to elders. The name of the village itself derives from the fact that the seven Maibas began the first settlement in the village and hence known as Maiba Khul.

The village is situated at a distance of around 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency in Imphal East district along the Imphal-Dimapur Road (NH 2). Once can reach the village by crossing the Imphal River and walking for some minutes on the eastern side of Koirengei Keithel. Blessed with its natural scenic beauty, free from noises and chaos of busy roads and surrounded by nature's greenery, the small village has a population of around 700 people in around 101 household and has 461 voters.

The village is under the jurisdiction of Sawombung Block and Heingang Police Station. It is surrounded by Mongjam village in the eastern side, Koirengei in the western side, Imphal River and Chanbigei in the southern side. On the northern side of the village, there situated Maiba Khul Hill range. The village has three clusters via Mamang Leikai, Mayai Leikai and Maning Leikai. However, Maiba Khul Khunnou, a new cluster, came into existence on the northern side of the village some five years ago with eight families, who previously settle along the bank of Imphal River, shifted there.

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

With agricultural activities being the man profession of the village, most of the villagers have low income. Apart from agricultural activities in the field during the rice farming and harvesting season, most of the villagers are engaged in kitchen gardening in their respective homesteads throughout the year while some even cultivate mustard plants in the empty fields after the harvesting season.

Unfortunately, there is not much facility of a good irrigation system. There is a pond called Ising Khong on the northern side of the village but it does not provide much benefit to the villagers in agriculture and farming. However, villagers are believing that the pond would help them to some extent in their agricultural activities if the pond is well developed.

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

In the meantime, villagers could not get much benefit from their agricultural activities since most of the fields, they have, belongs to other persons, who are not from the village. Among them, some families rare cattle while some produce Kouna products to get a better income apart from their normal agricultural activities and kitchen gardening.

On the other hand, women and lasses of the village are not lagging behind their male counterparts in term of earning extra income and hard works. Apart from their works in the field and vegetable farming, they works on their looms and weave clothes of various kinds like Phanek, Khudei and others. Some persons, who could not afford to buy yarns for weaving, gets the yarn from shops in Imphal without any cost and divides the profit with the shops. Now the village has around 30 government employees.

In Road communication, the only road, which connects the village with other places, was blacktopped some 10 years ago and repaired once some four years ago. There is autorickshaw service from the village to Imphal and one has to spend Rs 15 to go to Imphal and vice versa. The four streets inside the village are not blacktopped with some scattered shingles making it usable in the rainy season. However, the street to Kha-Lok, which is the main street they use in agricultural activities, is in a very deplorable condition.

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

Maiba Khul has a government added High School call Development High School and it has a semi pucca building. Some children of the village including some from Mongjam and Koirengei villages are studying in the school. The school has 10 teachers and it has very few students since most of the children of the village are studying in private schools despite their low income. In the morning, another primary school is being run in the building of the same school. Villagers, however, have the desire of concerned officials and department to develop the added high school and produce good students. Owing to the fact of their low income, there are not much persons in the village to pursue higher study.

In the health sector, the nearest health centre of the village is the Luwangsangbam Primary Health Centre and the only hospital that came to the mind of the villagers in times of ailments is the Christian Medical Centre at Koirengei.

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

Since its first settlement, the village has been deprived of tap water until 2012 when the government brought public hydels from December 5, 2012. Before that, the villagers used to acquire drinking water from underground with the help of hand pump. Besides, the villagers also use water from the community pond and Imphal River for various reasons. The village is getting its tap water from Loukhong Irel Water Supply Scheme, situated at the northern side of the village. The water supply scheme is also providing drinking water facility to Mongjam village.

Youths of the village are pretty much interested in sports and the village has a medium size playground. Irom Seityasen and Kangjam James, two good footballers from the village are now playing for Shillong Lajong Football Club and Tata Football Academy respectively. International Referee of Thang-Ta Takhellambam Debenjit, who had also won Gold Medal in the First National Thang-Ta Championships in Imphal, is also from Maiba Khul. He is now imparting training of indigenous martial art Thang-Ta to the budding youths of the village.

Like any other places of the state, the village is also facing the problem of irregular power supply. In short, one could hardly charge his phone fully in this village. The villagers are getting PDS items from the state government. Each family gets 1.5 litre of kerosene oil at the rate of Rs 25 per litre and 20 kg of rice at the rate of Rs 10 per kg in a month. However, they are not getting any sugar under the system.

Thanks to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Flagship Programme of India Government, the villagers are finding it a good way in increasing their income and helping them in their small economy. However, Maiba Khul is facing various shortcomings and inconveniences since it is in a much backward condition as compared to other surrounding villages, said one Takhellambam Inao, a locality. Among the various issues that haunt the village, Inao expressed the desire of repairing the 2.5 km-long banks of Imphal River, which is the boundary of the village and develop the unusable pond at the northern side of the village so that it could become handy in their agricultural activities and bring better yield in crops produces.

Maiba Khul Union Club, Maiba Khul Meira Paibi Lup and Maiba Khul Development Committee, three local civil bodies of the village are joining hands in bring a developmental change in the village and bring it at par with the surrounding villages. Despite its close proximity to Imphal city, Maiba Khul is still in backward condition in terms of development.

Maiba Khul - 12 km from Imphal, under Heingang Assembly Constituency :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam