3,802 people affected, 883 houses damaged as heavy rain batters Manipur

Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Manipur with 3,802 people affected and 883 houses damaged due to floods and landslides across the state in the last 48 hours, officials said on Sunday.

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Several localities of the state’s capital Imphal and many parts of Imphal East district have been inundated after a swollen river breached embankments and overflowed in Khurai, Heingang and Checkon areas, they said.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla visited several inundated areas of Imphal town even as the army and Assam Rifles personnel rescued nearly 800 people from submerged localities in Imphal East, the worst-affected district, they said.

Bhalla, accompanied by Chief Secretary PK Singh and other senior officials, visited Kangla Nongpok Thong, Lairikyengbam Leikai, and Singjamei Bridge in Imphal and assessed the overall situation, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

“At least 3802 people have been affected and 883 houses damaged in the last 48 hours as a result of floods and landslides in the state. Altogether 3,275 localities or villages have been hit by heavy rain till Saturday evening. Two persons have also been injured. The death of 64 animals has been reported,” an official said.

Overall, 12 landslides occurred across the state so far, he said.

Waterlogging was reported on the premises of several offices and establishments, including All India Radio Imphal complex, and state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, after the Imphal river overflowed in Checkon area, another official said.

On Sunday, the water level in the Iril river in Imphal East district crossed the danger mark on Sunday but is yet to breach the embankments, he said.

Locals and authorities have been trying to strengthen the embankments.

The water level in Checkon and Wangkhei receded on Sunday morning, but the situation in Khurai and Heingang constituencies, which were inundated on Saturday, remains unchanged, another official said.

During the visit, the governor instructed the officials to monitor the river situation closely and to implement pre-emptive measures, the Raj Bhavan statement said, adding that directions have been given to deputy commissioners to arrange for evacuation and temporary relief measures for the affected people.

SDRF and NDRF units have also been alerted, it added.