Imphal. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a mission to restore peace in violence-hit Manipur, visited Churachandpur, one of the worst-affected areas of the riots, earlier this month. The Home Minister will also hold several meetings with leaders of political and civil organizations and people of the Meitei and Kuki communities on Tuesday.
Shah reached Imphal by plane on Monday night. He was accompanied by the Home Secretary. Shah called Chief Minister N.K. on late Monday night to take stock of the situation. Biren Singh, some of his cabinet colleagues, intelligence and security officials. Sources said in the meeting, it was decided on several relief measures and steps like increasing supplies to bring down the prices of essential commodities in the northeastern state.
The prices of essential commodities have shot up in the state since caste violence broke out earlier this month. Sources said Kuki leaders and legislators may also attend the talks with the home minister. Many of them have gone to the neighboring state but they are likely to come to participate in the talks. The people of the Kuki community are demanding a separate administration for the district in which they live, failing which they have approached the President in the state. There has been a demand for the imposition of Govt.
Manipur has been affected by caste violence for about a month and the state has seen a rise in clashes during this period. After weeks of lull, there was also exchange of fire between security forces and militants on Sunday. According to officials, the death toll in the riots since the start of the caste riots here on May 3 has risen to 80. An official said Army and paramilitary personnel are conducting search operations in the Imphal Valley and adjoining districts. He said the army’s operation was aimed at seizing a cache of illegal weapons.
Caste violence broke out in Manipur for the first time after the ‘Tribal Unity March’ in Manipur. The Meitei community had staged a ‘Tribal Unity March’ on May 3, demanding Scheduled Caste (ST) status. Tensions over eviction of Kuki villagers from reserved forest land have resulted in violence earlier. This resulted in several minor agitations. The Meitei community constitutes about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and most of the community lives in the Imphal Valley. The Naga and Kuki communities constitute 40 per cent of the total population and are concentrated in the hilly districts. lives in.
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