Page 10 - Manipur Govt

IED explosion damages bridge on NH 2 in ethnic violence-hit Manipur

A bridge on the National Highway 2 in ethnic violence-hit Manipur's Kangpokpi district was partially damaged in an IED explosion early on Wednesday, disrupting traffic movement in the area, police said. The blast occurred on the bridge between Sapermeina and Koubru Leikha areas around 12.45 am, an officer said. No casualties were reported so far in the improvised explosive device (IED) blast, he said. Three craters and cracks on both ends of the bridge were noticed, the officer said. Movement of heavy vehicles has been stopped on the bridge connecting Manipur's capital Imphal with Nagaland's Dimapur. Minutes after the explosion, police personnel rushed to the spot and cordoned off the bridge, he said, adding that an investigation into the IED blast has been initiated. Some two-wheelers, however, were seen plying on the bridge this morning. The IED explosion occurred hours after gunfights broke out between village volunteers of the two warring communities in Imphal West district

Significant human rights abuses in Manipur after ethnic violence: US report

There were significant human rights abuses in Manipur after the outbreak of ethnic conflict, the US State Department said on Monday in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the incident as shameful and urged action on the case, it said. In its annual report of the State Department, which is mandated by the US Congress, it also mentions the raids by tax authorities on the office of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the conviction and sentencing to two years of prison to Rahul Gandhi by a court in Gujarat. Released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the report mentions some of the positive developments on the issue of human rights and freedom of expression and gathering in the year 2023, the duration of the report. In July, the government permitted a march in Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir, allowing Shia Muslims to mark the religious Muharram event. This procession represented the first government-sanctioned ...

LS polls: Amit Shah to campaign in violence-hit Manipur on Monday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will campaign in ethnic strife-torn Manipur on Monday, besides visiting Tripura and Rajasthan to garner support for BJP candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, sources said. Shah will address a rally in Imphal seeking votes for Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, the education minister of the northeastern state who is also the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate from the Inner Manipur constituency in the upcoming election. The seat is currently held by BJP leader and Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. The Inner Manipur Lok Sabha segment has 32 Assembly constituencies across the conflict-scarred Imphal valley. Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march was organised in the state's hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Since then, more than 220 people have been killed in the continuing violence. The BJP has not fielded any

Kukis, Meitis unite on one point - not right time for LS polls in Manipur

The Kukis and Meitis may be at loggerheads in Manipur but their thoughts on one point converge -- this is not the right time for Lok Sabha elections in the restive state. It has nearly been a year since ethnic violence broke out between the hill-majority Kukis and the valley-majority Meitis. It has not only killed over 200 people and displaced around 50,000 but also sharply divided Manipur along ethnic lines. Elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur will be held on April 19 and 26. While Inner Manipur and some segments of Outer Manipur will vote in the first phase, the remaining segments of Outer Manipur will go to polls on April 26. Living separately and refusing to co-exist in future, many members of both Kukis and Meitis communities ask - why elections at this time and what difference will they make? "Our demand is clear - we want a separate administration for the Kuki Zo community. For years the development has only been in the valley and not our areas and after what has ..

Special polling booths arranged for 5K voters displaced by Manipur violence

All arrangements to enable displaced people to vote have been made in accordance with the guidance received from the central government

Battleground 2024: Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Manipur counts its losses

GST mop-up falls 24% to Rs 1,095 crore in FY24

Right to live before right to vote: Common refrain in Manipur relief camps

"Why should I vote to elect a representative of a place which is no longer mine... elections mean nothing to us," says a distraught Nobi who lost her home 11 months ago to ethnic violence in Manipur, and is living in a relief camp. The 42-year-old is not alone as 'right to live before right to vote' and 'peace before polls' was the common refrain of many who have not been able to return to their home due to recurrent clashes and lingering hostilities between the warring ethnic groups in the northeast state. The state has traditionally seen a very high voter turnout with more than 82 per cent polling recorded in the 2019 elections. But the ethnic violence has cast a shadow on the polls this time around with several civil society groups and the affected people questioning the relevance of holding elections in the current circumstances. "The government hasn't been able to ensure my right to live with dignity and they are going to ensure my right to vote?" Nobi asks. "My house was burn

Manipur LS polls: Over 24k displaced people to vote from relief camps

Eleven months of conflict, over 50,000 displaced people and an anti-poll sentiment among few---the Election Commission in violence-hit Manipur is gearing up for the challenging task of holding Lok Sabha elections in the state where the poll scene is muted. Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Kumar Jha said over 24,500 displaced people have been identified as eligible to vote in the upcoming elections and special arrangements have been made for them to cast their franchise from relief camps. "A total of 2,955 polling stations will be set up in the state for the Lok Sabha elections, out of which around 50 per cent have been identified as sensitive, vulnerable or critical. We are also setting up 94 special polling stations to facilitate voting by internally displaced persons (IDPs), Jha told PTI. As per Election Commission of India (ECI) norms, a vulnerability mapping of hamlets, villages and electoral segments vulnerable for threat and intimidation, is conducted ahead of polls. "Special

Traders at Manipur's women-run Ima market question relevance of elections

Amidst the lingering aftermath of ethnic conflicts, the women traders at Manipur's iconic 'Ima market' -- the only market in the world run entirely by women -- have expressed a deafening lack of enthusiasm towards the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Questioning the relevance of the electoral process amidst the ongoing turmoil, the women traders from various market associations, are contemplating a boycott of the polls with their major grievance being -- "the nation forgot Manipur". Nema Devi, a seasoned fish vendor at the market, reflects the sentiment shared by many, emphasising the absence of tangible change despite months of unrest. "Even 11 months after the violence, there has not been a resolution and no restoration of peace. We continue to live by the rule of taking one day at a time. Living in continuous fear and going ahead with our usual lives. "What will change with the elections? The nation, the government, everybody forgot Manipur," 52-year-old Devi, who has been running

Amit Shah speaks to CMs of WB, Assam, Manipur after storm hits 3 states

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday spoke to the chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam and Manipur in the wake of severe losses suffered by the three states due to a storm, and assured them of all possible central help. Shah also appealed to the BJP workers in the three states to provide every possible help to the affected people during this hour of distress. "Deeply concerned about the severe loss suffered by West Bengal, Assam, and Manipur due to a storm. Spoke to the Chief Ministers and assured them of all possible assistance. I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the swift recovery of the injured," he wrote on X. Four people died and over 100 were injured as a storm wreaked havoc in parts of Jalpaiguri district in northern West Bengal on Sunday, while a child died and two persons were reported missing after a boat capsized in the Brahmaputra in South Salmara-Mankachar district, amid heavy rain and hailstorm across Assam. There were a

Lok Sabha polls: Law minister of conflict-torn Manipur gets BJP ticket

Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh will replace the sitting MP and Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who represents the Inner Manipur constituency since 2019

Manipur govt to introduce grading system in class 10 board examination

At least 37,715 students including 18,628 female students are appearing for the matriculation examination which is being held from March 15 to April 8 in 154 examination centres

Indian Army personnel abducted in Manipur, fourth case since conflict

Manipur is reeling under sporadic incidents of violence since an ethnic conflict began in the northeastern state on May 3. More than 200 people have lost their lives in the violence

Talks, negotiations only way to bring peace in Manipur: Kiren Rijiju

Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said negotiations are the only means to restore peace in ethnic violence-hit Manipur and returning the state to normalcy will be the Narendra Modi government's next phase of efforts. Rijiju put the blame for the ongoing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state on a Manipur High Court order recommending Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meiteis. The violence has claimed at least 219 lives in the restive state. Rijiju said the problem in Manipur was not an uprising against the BJP-led Centre but ethnic clashes between two dominant groups -- the Meiteis and the Kukis. "If anyone wants to help restore peace in Manipur, then first go and appeal to both the Meities and the Kukis that do not pick up arms. An armed struggle will not lead to a solution. Peaceful negotiations are the only means to achieve a peaceful atmosphere and get normalcy back. That will be the next phase of our efforts to bring development

Manipur introduces 'no work, no pay' rule for officials who remained absent

The Manipur government on Wednesday introduced a "no-work, no-pay" rule for its employees who have remained absent from office "without valid and accepted reasons." An office memorandum by the department of personnel and administrative reforms said, "Officials who are unable to attend office at their usual place of posting on account of the prevailing law and order situation in the state had been attached with Deputy Commissioners/line departments/field level offices to enable them to function therefrom, or for discharging such responsibilities as may be assigned to them, by the Deputy Commissioners concerned, or such authorities duly authorised in this regard." It further stated that there have been reports that "many such officials so attached are not attending offices to which they have been attached or not reporting for duty." Deputy commissioners, heads of departments have been informed to maintain register to record attendances of the said "attached officials", the circular ..

Manipur violence: CBI charge sheets seven in Bishnupur armoury loot case

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against seven accused in connection with the looting of arms and ammunition from the Bishnupur police armoury during the Manipur ethnic violence last year, officials said on Sunday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing cases related to the ethnic clashes in Manipur, recently filed its charge sheet before the court of chief judicial magistrate in Kamrup (Metro) in Assam's Guwahati. The accused named in the charge sheet are Laishram Prem Singh, Khumukcham Dhiren alias Thapkpa, Moirangthem Anand Singh, Athokpam Kajit alias Kishorjit, Loukrakpam Michael Mangangcha alias Michael, Konthoujam Romojit Meitei alias Romojit, and Keisham Johnson alias Johnson. On August 3 last year, a mob looted more than 300 weapons, 19,800 rounds of ammunition and other accessories from two rooms of the 2nd Indian Reserve Battalion headquarters at Naranseina in Bishnupur. Around 9,000 rounds of bullets of different calibres, an AK series assault rifle,

People displaced by Manipur violence to vote at special polling stations

Special polling stations will be set up at relief camps to enable people displaced due to the ethnic strife in Manipur to cast their votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, an official statement said. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directions in this regard, the statement issued by the state Chief Electoral Officer on Friday said. "A large number of electors registered in several parts of the state were displaced from their native places during the conflict that started on May 3, 2023. Presently, they are residing in relief camps in various districts. The displaced electors are still enrolled at the places where they were residents before the conflict started," it stated. "The ECI, after due consultation with the central and state governments, has directed that all such displaced persons who had to leave their native places during the conflict shall continue to be borne on the electoral rolls of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies concerned in the ...

Manipur Assembly passes resolution urging Centre to implement NRC in state

The Manipur assembly on Friday passed a resolution urging the central government to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. Speaker Th Satyabrata said, "The House resolves to reaffirm its previous resolution passed on August 5, 2022, and also to urge the Government of India to implement NRC in Manipur in the interest of the state in particular and of the nation in general." In another development, Chief Minister N Biren Singh informed the House that eight FIRs have been filed regarding the February 15 incident in Churachandpur, where a mob vandalised and partially torched the DC and SP office. Responding to a calling attention raised by Congress MLA K Meghachandra, Singh said, "Eight FIRs have been registered, of which two have been handed over to the CBI." He further mentioned that six police personnel and 43 civilians sustained injuries during the incident, and 20 people involved in the violence have been identified. Video recordings suggest the presence o

13,264 structures destroyed in Manipur violence, says CM N Biren Singh

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Thursday told the assembly that 13,264 structures have been reported to be destroyed since ethnic violence broke out in the state in May last year. In response to a query by MLA Surjakumar Okram, Singh said assessment and identification of damaged, destroyed, or gutted structures is still ongoing in various districts. Singh mentioned that the government has sanctioned Rs 15 crore as advance interim relief to families those whose homes were completely burnt down or damaged during the violence. He added that the identification of beneficiaries and verification of accounts is being carried out by the deputy commissioners of the respective districts. Regarding deployment of security forces to control the law and order situation, Singh said 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were deployed from May to October 2023. He, however, said specific details about the deployment of central forces in Moreh could not be disclosed in the Hous

Manipur govt extends internet suspension in Churachandpur for five days

The Manipur government has extended internet suspension including mobile data services in Churachandpur district for another five days till March 2 in "view of the prevailing law and order situation" in the district. A Home Department order issued on Sunday evening said the "state government after reviewing the prevailing law and order situation in Churachandpur district decided to continue suspension of internet services, mobile data services and internet services through VPN throughout the whole revenue jurisdiction of Churachandpur district till March 2. Mobile service providers were also directed to ensure compliance of the order, it stated. The state government on February 16 ordered temporary suspension of internet services in Churachandpur district for five days after a mob entered the district office complexes of the Superintendent of Police and Deputy Commissioner and engaged in vandalism and torched government properties. Two persons were killed in a clash with security .