Manipur is slowly limping back to normalcy after weeks of disturbance with schools reopening on Tuesday. The internet suspension has also been lifted in all the districts of the northeastern state.
Earlier this month, the situation in Manipur deteriorated once again after the state witnessed one of its most widespread violence between the two ethnic groups, Meitei and Kuki tribes.
From an indefinite curfew in a few districts to an internet ban, the Biren Singh-led government in Manipur tried to ensure that the crisis does not escalate like last year.
Two people, including a woman and an ex-serviceman belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, were killed in separate incidents. The deaths triggered massive protests by students in Manipur who clashed with police personnel in Imphal leading to unrest in the state.
‘Centre in talks with Meitei, Kuki’
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the BJP-led central government is in dialogue with the two fighting tribes – Kuki and Meitei.
He added that the government is also working on ways to control the violence in Manipur and has “created a roadmap to resolve the issue.”
“Recently, violence went on for three days, other than that, in the last 3 months, no major incident took place. We are hopeful to bring the situation under control. Because this is racial violence, there cannot be any solution until there is a dialogue between them. We are speaking to the Kuki groups and the Meitei groups,” Shah said.
The Union home minister said that the problem in Manipur stems from the India-Myanmar border. To nip the problem in the bud, the centre has already completed the fencing of 30 km of the border and has deployed CRPF teams at key points to prevent infiltration.
He added, “The central government has approved a budget to fence the whole 1500 km border. We have successfully deployed CRPF at strategic locations. To stop the infiltration, we have nullified the agreement between India and Myanmar which allowed the movement of the people, and now entry into India is allowed only by visa.”
Centre offers affordable commodities in Manipur
To bring normalcy back to the northeastern state, the BJP-led central government has also announced providing commodities at affordable prices to the people of Manipur.
In addition to 21 existing Bhandars, 16 new facilities will be opened, announced Home Minister Shah, adding, that the eight centres among 16 will be in the hills.
With inputs from agencies
Link to article –
