Manipur Forest and Environment Minister Awangbow Newmai on Sunday said that the Centre has assured to provide Rs 97 crore to protect the famous Loktak Lake.
He said this after holding a meeting with the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav.
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Loktak Lake in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, Deepor Beel in Guwahati and Rudrasagar lake in western Tripura are the three lakes in northeast India which are categorized as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
This convention provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
Minister Newmai said that Sunday’s review meeting in presence of the central minister was held with an objective to save Loktak Lake.
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He said the Union Minister gave assurance to give his full support to all the plans to preserve and protect the lake, which has floating land masses and ‘phumdis’ (series of floating lakes) available which cannot be found in other places in the world.
“The Union Minister gave his commitment to providing Rs 97 crore to undertake various protection measures of the Loktak Lake,” the state minister said.
Loktak Development Authority Chairman L.S. Meitei said that the Union Minister is concerned with the conservation efforts of the Loktak Lake.
“A detailed conservation plan was put up in the Sunday’s review meeting. The plan also included providing a sustainable livelihood for fishermen in the periphery area,” Meitei said.
The Union Environment Minister’s meeting was the second within a week on the development and protection of Loktak Lake.
Yadav earlier said that the Loktak is not only a lake but also an important historic landmark of India’s independence struggle. It is a sacred place from where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose showed the dream of an independent India to the people of the country.