2019 – Posted in: Press Information Bureau – Tags: Manipur

Development of Loktak Inland Waterways Project, Manipur

Ministry of Shipping

WHAT

The Shipping Ministry has approved the development of the Loktak Inland Waterways improvement project in Manipur under the central sector scheme. The Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast located at Moirang in Manipur.

The scheme has been approved on the basis that, it will not harm the environment and its flow will not affect the natural resources.

SIGNIFICANCE

The project will develop the Inland water transport connectivity in North East States and give boost to the tourism sector.

INLAND WATERWAYS

Inland waterways is a network in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks that can be used for transportation in place of or in addition to roads and rails.
Inland waterways in India consist of the Ganges (Ganga)–Bhagirathi–Hooghly rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari – Krishna rivers.
The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km of the river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts.

INLAND WATERWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India.
It was constituted under NHAI Act-1985 by parliament of India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration.

LOKTAK LAKE

The etymology of Loktak is Lok = “stream” and tak = “the end”.
Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India.
It is famous for the phumdis (heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil and organic matter at various stages of decomposition) floating over it.
Located on this phumdi, Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only floating national park in the world.
The park is the last natural refuge of the endangered Sangai (state animal), Rucervus eldii eldii or Manipur brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), one of three subspecies of Eld’s deer.
Loktak Day is observed every year on the 15th of October at the periphery of the Loktak lake.

Loktak lake Phumdis

Source: PIB