Shoigupat and Laphupat Reconstruction Committee (SLRC) on Thursday protested against Manipur Government’s plan to evict inhabitants of five surrounding villages of Shoigupat and Laphupat in Imphal West district. Manipur Government had earlier announced its decision to evict all the villages in these Loktak Lake tributaries, saying these areas would be developed for expansion of the Keibul Lamjao National Park.
N Rajendro, advisor, SLRC told reporters at Manipur Press Club here that these places having an area of about 25 Sq km should not be acquired by the state Government as livelihood of the villagers solely depends on them. Komlakhong, Konuma, Laphupat Tera and Arong Nongmaikhong are the five surrounding villages of Laphupat and Shoigupat. Main occupation of the people of these villages is fishing. Rajendro warned that if the Government fails to cancel its eviction order at the earliest, SLRC would launch agitation with support of the villagers.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/eviction-of-villages-around-lake-opposed/
