Imphal city

“IMPHAL CITY” City of Imphal is the capital of the state Manipur which is a part of the seven sisters of India and is in the north eastern part of the country and shares its borders with the Myanmar. State has pristine beauty and is very picturesque which is also noted and mentioned by the first and former prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who called the state as ‘Jewel of the India’. The land has very rich bio diversity and has great heritage significance. This can be owed to its geographical setting and prevailing climate and good soil conditions which make it possible to have such rich bio diversity in the state that it was worthy enough to be titled by the former minister.

Siroy Lily

Sangai

Loktak Lake

There are different natural elements which make the state different from other state and with the diverse species of flora and fauna the state has a unique character. And there a lot of species which are endemic to the state, namely Siroi Lily, flower which is only found in Manipur and Sangai a type of deer.

The natural beauty is not only restricted in terms of flora and fauna but also the kind of geological formations and the scenic views an lakes present in the city for instance Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the North East India. The city is surrounded by 9 mountain ranges and hence the city is in the valley of these ranges and around 70-80% of the total population lives in the city of Imphal.

Like other growing cities, Imphal is also facing problems due to urbanization, increase in private vehicles and lack of infrastructure which fail to meet the basic requirement.

The road which was wide enough in the past 6/7 years, now it becomes so congested and creates a traffic jam. It’s not only changed in the land form or on the road, the architectural principle of building a house also changed dramatically. Once there were courtyard and it was compulsory for every house has been not there anymore.

This shows that the population has been increasing very fast, especially in the Imphal city.

Now the city has been changed completely, when we talk or see the growth of the city, buildings are growing with the increase in population. But then in a systematic manner, as, for example, there is no restriction of building height, make the building maintain some principles to make beautiful or define as a unity as a whole. People are building or erecting structure for what they want and it’s become too much of varieties and the city is becoming a patch of buildings without any identity. All the buildings stand separate and don’t make any unity.

The planning of the city is centralized from which make all the structures are at the center of the city.

And there is no old city in Imphal, all of them converted into brick and concrete structure. The delicate beauty of the old city has been destroyed by new unorganized structure. Institute like Municipal Council, which is responsible for controlling the building bylaws is not properly implementing their power to make people follow the rules and regulations. If they properly organize and people cooperate with the rules and regulations, then the condition of the city wouldn’t be like this and it would be better.

Imphal City

Streets of Manipur have great significance in people life. People are dependent of the streets for their daily wages. There two most crucial streets where one can find all the people coming in throughout the day and every day those being Paona Bazaar Street and Thangal Bazaar Street which are the main street in Imphal city. Here you can find everything from household utensils to vegetables, clothes etc. In short, you can find everything which is necessary requires for a living. The place is so lively that people start coming from early morning around 7 and it goes to late night. Restaurants, shopping places, cinema halls make the street more interesting special for the youth people.

Paona Bazaar

Thangal Bazaar

There is one of the most unique and special place in Manipur which caters and is dedicated only for the women. What makes this place special is that even the shopkeepers who run their shops are women and all the goods which are sold here are mainly for women. This gives the market a very different charm of its own and in a way helps in women empowerment.

The continuous increase of people leads to one thing increasing of vehicles owned by these people which leads to another thing as consequence which is congestion. The streets are getting even more crowded even more congested and during the festivals or any state occasion, we can see only people in the whole street. Even if the street is crowded at this time, people still find their step to fit because this is the only area where you can find everything. Even though this makes the streets really lively but on a long run there has to be a solution in place so that the character of this street is not lost just to cater to the growing population of the city.

Imphal is in beautiful mountain ranges with four rivers cutting through the city. The city though is under a lot of distress due to growing demand of the ever growing population and because of the same reason the entire region is becoming another concrete jungle without considering the different aspects such as climate, location, topography, etc. The local and traditional architecture of Manipur responses to the socio economic set up and has a cultural significance and identity. The traditional set up has a good climatic response. These houses are good in temperature control, provide protection from natural calamities and enhance natural ventilation.

However they lack certain features which make them prone to different threats if these houses are studied and understood and modern techniques and construction methods are applied with traditional style they can result in the modern and contemporary style of the area in a very distinctive way. These will be very sustainable and very local to the area of the state which will give it a unique character for the area. This will hence provide the region to be created effectively.

Currently, there are no specific bylaws of how to grow and develop the city and they don’t have bylaws for traditional housing, the government needs to set in by laws which sees a holistic approach of growing of the Imphal city and seeing it does not become another concrete jungle as the city has unique traits not in terms of the housing and tradition but also in terms of the natural bio diversity it holds. The city has great potential to become one of the most attractive cities in the countries with 4 rivers crossing the city the rivers can be developed in the most sustainable way while preserving the natural ecology of the river area and opening up public spaces for gathering and celebrating near the banks. The government hence should see an approach which doesn't only give temporary solutions but a holistic and futuristic solution for a long term benefits and which strives towards sustainability.

Sources: Siroi Lily: http://manipuronline.com/headlines/small-but-significant-gestures-to-siroy-lily-and-its-abode/2010/10/16 Sangai: http://kanglaonline.com/2013/07/sangai-brow-antlered-deer-panolia-eldi-eldi/ Loktak Lake: http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2011/11/23/loktak-lake-being-cleared-of-encroachments/ Map: Town Planning Department, Imphal Paona bazaar: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/47203191 Thangal Bazaar: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/47203137