IMPHAL, July 30: The Mapithel Dam Multipurpose Project Displaced Villages Committee (MDMPDVC) has said that in a unanimous move on July 29, the committee has endorsed to extend maximum cooperation and moral support to the proposed agitation called by Mapithel Dam Affected Ching Tam Organisation (MDACTO) in relation with the extreme dissatisfaction of the affected villages in and around the construction site of Mapithel Dam.
According to a release of MDMPDVC, the injudicious treatment of the government of Manipur which affects more than 20,000 displaced people has called for strong condemnation from all quarters.
The Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R and R) package for those directly affected in Chadong and Lamlai Khunou villages have been cut off and the people who once subsisted on the natural resources and vegetations have been denied of access owning to massive submergence of lands, dwelling houses and sources thereby depriving the people of their means of livelihood, it said.
The committee further pointed out that due to blocking of the river, the main life support system of the downstream villages like Louphong, Phayang, Nongdam, Maphou Kuki, Tumukhong, Moirangpurel, Itham Island and TC Pokpi are worst affected. The government should announce economic Rehabilitation for downstream villages affected by the dam at the earliest either by means of employment or commensurate economic packages, it said.
The committee also pointed out that the man-made calamity created by the government of Manipur with deliberate intentions and its nonchalant attitude towards the plight of the people is a gross violation of human rights by all norms and standards, it said.