Another round of tripartite talks on creation of new districts held in Manipur

Another round of tripartite talks were held among the Centre, the Manipur Government and the United Naga Council (UNC) in Manipur's Senapati district headquarter on creation of new districts, with an aim to end communal crisis.

The meeting was conducted after objections raised by the UNC regarding the delay in setting their demands, and the state government affirmed that after consultation with stakeholders, it will be done soon.

Joint Secretary (Northeast) in the Ministry of Home Affairs Satyendra Garg, who chaired the meeting, said, "Talks do take time and efforts so now we are reaching a final decision. I am sure we have travelled far and I think in around 3 months we will have some solution."

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr. J. Suresh Babu also attended the meeting.

President of UNC Gaidon Kamei said, "Our point is clear from day one and there is no question of going back from our position. We have already given our stand point clearly to the state government and the government of India. We expect something good would come out in the next meeting".

On demand for a concrete proposal from the Government of Manipur, it was agreed that the state government will prepare a concrete proposal by second week of February 2018.

The representatives of Manipur government assured that all possible efforts will be taken to ensure peace is maintained if new districts come into existence.

The UNC has been protesting the creation of new districts, particularly Kangpokpi and Jiribam.

This round of tripartite talks was held on November 10.

The last edition was held in August when 'mutual respect' among the parties was agreed on, and the next round is scheduled for February next year.