The Manipur Government has banned sale of petroleum products in bulk to the consumers with jerrycans and other containers by all dealers at retail outlets of petroleum products located in the valley districts with immediate effect.

The step was a part of the stringent measures to prevent dealers in valley area from supplying oil at their respective retail outlets in containers with effect from Thursday.

IMPHAL, July 29

IMPHAL

The Mapithel Dam Affected Villages Organisation (MDAVO) has expressed concern on the alleged lack of coordination within the State Irrigation and Flood Control Department (IFCD) in handling the Thoubal project (Mapithel Dam) in Manipur. MDAVO secretary R Leishipem alleged that the agreed minutes of the Expert Review Committee were not followed. "The MDAVO will continue to fight democratically against the IFCD officials till the legitimate demands are addressed and implemented,'' the organization stated.

The entire State of Manipur has been facing acute shortage of water due to the failure of the main water supply project at Singda in Imphal. Official sources said if the state did not receive any rainfall within the next few days, the dam would be without a single drop of water. Meanwhile, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Minister T N Haokip visited the Singda dam site and met village chiefs to discuss about the maintenance of the dam. People of Imphal city, who depend entirely on water supply by the PHED, were most affected by the water shortage.