Manipur: Militants injure 1 at Maphou dam site

Imphal, Nov 27: Unknown armed miscreants resorted to firing at the Maphou dam site at Imphal East, injuring a person last night.

Police here today said large number of police and BSF personnel cordoned off the dam area.

An operation has been initiated to nab the culprits, police added.

The Manipur government is constructing the dam as a part of the Thoubal Multi-purpose project to provide water in the area.

However, the affected residents of the area and those living in downstream areas have objected to the construction of the dam.

On November 3, a rally was organised to protest the construction of the dam.

The agitators alleged that the construction of the Mapithel Dam of the Thoubal Multi-Purpose Project was approved by the Planning Commission in 1980 for construction without the consent of the affected villages along the Mapithel Valley.

''It will submerge as many as many as eleven tribal villages along with their natural resources,'' they said.

Spreading over 1,215 hectares, the reservoir consists of community forestland of 595 hectares. At the downstream areas, 14 villages will be affected.

UNI