​​Water, unlike Air, needs a certain amount of work to be done to be consumed. Work may vary from fetching, harvesting, digging ponds, filtering, boiling, purifying, etc. Existence of living beings, ecologies, biodiversity, etc are affected by the availability and accessibility of water.

The inhabitants of Nongmaikhong village always used to boast of its idyllic setting near the placid waters of Pumlen Pat with several streams flowing into the freshwater lake. Relationship between Pumlenpat and the communities of the surrounding villages suddenly got disrupted with the construction of the Ithai Barrage.

Traditionally, the Meiteis had a well organised water protection and conservation system in the Imphal valley, mostly managed by the local community, known as leikai shinglup. One of its major tasks is to construct a pukhri, (community pond) to secure the water needs of the locality.

In the ancient Thawai Meeren philosophy of the Meities believe, all life originated from water. This story takes the readers to Andro, one of the oldest villages, site of a sacred fire that has been kept burning for the past 2,000 years at the Chakpa Panam Ningthou Meithoupirol Shanglen cultural complex.  

Chadong is at the upstream, while the Tumukhong is located in the immediate downstream that faced numerous challenges. The twin stories bring to fore a telling account of what happened to the two villages, which were connected by the river and its shared resources but now separated by the dam.

As the population grew, the demand for water increased beyond the carrying capacity of the existing water sources – wells and ponds. The situation worsened during the dry winter months, as the water level sharply dropped, and there was very little water that could meet the needs of the entire village. 

Loktak, an internationally acclaimed freshwater lake, is the soul of Manipur. In this detailed story walks through this maze of issues and attempt to explain the nature of the problems, especially the existential dilemma of the inhabitants of Champu Khangpok, the only recognised floating village of the Loktak lake.