Region
Manipur body withdraws agitation following CM’s assurance
IMPHAL — The Village Volunteers’ Service (VVS) of Khundrakpam Assembly Constituency in Manipur’s Imphal East district has decided to withdraw their plan to launch various forms of agitation following assurance made by the chief minister, N Biren Singh.
Briefing media persons in Imphal on Sunday, the convenor of VVS, N Bobby, stated that Biren Singh has assured to take up resettlement process of displaced villages of Mairenpat and Dolaithabi after the submission of report based on the number of existing unaffected houses and number of completely damaged houses. He added that the same was also conveyed to the deputy commissioner of Imphal East district.
Bobby stated that similar report on the number of affected and unaffected houses in Ekou and Yengkhuman villages under Imphal East district has been sought so as to take up the necessary resettlement process of displaced villagers. At the same time, a state force outpost would be opened, he informed.
The assurances were made during a joint meeting with the representatives including Meira Paibis (women group) of 27 villages under Khundrakpam assembly constituency in Imphal on Saturday evening, VVS convenor said.
Apart from establishment of a similar outpost of a state force at Uyumpok Nongshum area, an assurance of constructing a bailey bridge over Iril River to connect Leitanpokpi and Pukhao Terapur villages was also made during the meeting. For this, an official team would be sent for inspection on October 16, the convenor added.
According to VVS, nearly 4000 villagers of Ekou, Yengkhuman, Dolaithabi, Mairempat and Litanpokpi and nearby villages under Imphal East district bordering Kangpokpi district have been displaced due to the violence in the state.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence in the first week of May, in which more than 175 people were killed, 1430 others injured and nearly 50,000 people were displaced besides burning a number of villages and localities.
On August 23, Manipur government began handing over the prefabricated temporary shelter houses to the violence affected displaced families in the state after the chief minister, N Biren Singh, announced to build around 4000 prefabricated houses to accommodate the violence affected displaced people in the state.
The temporary shelter houses at Sajiwa Jail Complex in Imphal east district has been providing shelter to more than 300 displaced families mostly from Ekou and Dolaithabi villages.