COCOMI urges government to recognize displaced Naga families as IDPs
Correspondent
IMPHAL, Nov 8: In the wake of upcoming festivals, the Manipur government on Sunday released Rs 5,88,63,000 from the state emergency fund to provide financial assistance to 58,863 eligible Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The IDPs will get Rs 1000 each under the special assistance which the government will disburse through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), a government release said.
The funds were transferred via RGTS to the designated accounts of deputy commissioners across 10 districts – Imphal West, Churachandpur, Imphal East, Thoubal, Ukhrul, Kakching, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur recently, it added.
Asserting that the funds were released in view of the ensuing Diwali and Ningol Chakouba festivals, chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, in a post on his social media handles, said ‘I have directed the deputy commissioners concerned to ensure timely disbursement of the assistance to all eligible beneficiaries.”
In Manipur Diwali, is to be celebrated on Monday (November 9) and the Ningol Chakouba on Wednesday (November 11).
The government release added that the deputy commissioners were directed to ensure the timely disbursement of the funds to eligible beneficiaries after due verification.
The ongoing violent conflict between the Meitei and Kuki in Manipur which began on May 3, 2023 had resulted in tens of thousands of displaced people residing in relief camps.
Around 52,000 IDPs are living in relief camps and nearly 26,000 with host families in Manipur state by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Sunday urged the state government to recognize members of the Naga tribes displaced by the ongoing conflict between the Kuki and Naga as internally displaced persons (IDPs) and extend appropriate assistance and rehabilitation support to them.
Addressing a news conference at its office in Imphal, COCOMI convener YK Dhiren also appealed to the government to ensure that Naga families affected by the ongoing Naga-Kuki conflict receive adequate relief materials and that their resettlement process was carried out effectively and systematically.
The apex body also urged the state government to expedite relief and rehabilitation measures for the IDPs, stressing the need to provide adequate relief materials and ensure their safe and dignified resettlement.
The convener asserted that the COCOMI had been consistently raising concerns over the plight of IDPs, including through its recent appeals to the Naga community, which has also been affected by the prevailing situation and alleged activities of armed groups in the region.
He said the government, including the chief minister, had made several assurances regarding the welfare and resettlement of IDPs, however no substantial new initiatives had been taken to address their concerns so far.
Asserting that the Manipur crisis entered its fourth year and the IDPs continued to live in difficult circumstances.
He insisted that the government must take timely steps to facilitate the return of displaced families to their homes and ensure that all eligible assistance and relief measures announced by the government reach them without further delay.