MANIPUR GOVERNOR ASSURES WRITTEN STATEMENT ON IDP RESETTLEMENT PLAN
Manipur police backed by a large number of Central security forces armed with anti-riot gears stopped a crowd of protesters, mostly internally displaced persons (IDPs), advancing Imphal Lok Bhavan on Monday.
No untoward incident was reported as police who were already alerted blocked the road to Lok Bhavan completely with temporary barricades and succeeded in convincing the protesters to air their demands to the Governor by allowing their representatives to proceed.
The protesters were calmed down only after the Governor reportedly assured to give them a written response to the memorandums by tomorrow (January 13).
The protest rally was carried out by IDPs languishing at various relief camps across the valley district backed by Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) that sought to get the attention of the Lok Bhavan on Monday afternoon.
Pressing the Governor for his immediate intervention and concrete measures for their resettlement, the IDPs sought a response from the state administration under President’s Rule to a number of memorandums they submitted to the Governor and other pertinent authorities regarding the unresolved issues of the IDPs, particularly the resettlement.
Leaders and members of various CSOs also took part in the rally that originated from Imphal’s Kwakeithel and marched toward the Lok Bhavan along Tidim Road on Monday afternoon.
The rally displayed a banner that read, “Respond to our December memorandums,” while referring to several memorandums submitted by the COCOMI and IDPs to the Governor and state chief secretary.
“Resettlement is a right, not a favour”, “Governor must respond to the people”, read other placards carried by the protesters.
They also chanted slogans like “Let us return to our homes”, “Open the national highways”, “Manipur belongs to us,” etc. reflecting growing frustration over prolonged displacement and uncertainty.
The key demand of the protest rally was the translation into action of the government’s three-phase plan for resettlement of all the IDPs by December, 2025.
Under the plan, the PR administration promised to close all the IDP relief camps by December 31, 2025 by resettling them to their original places and by providing temporary shelter houses for those of whom resettlement was not feasible for the time being.
Pressing the government to translate into action the plan, the IDPs backed by the COCOMI had staged a month-long sit-in-demonstration in Imphal in December last.
Upon reaching Keishampat, a few meters short of reaching Lok Bhavan, the police backed by a large contingent of the Central security forces blocked the slogan chanting rally from advancing further.
Amid the pressure to allow the protesters to march till Lok Bhavan, top police officials who arrived at the spot allowed a group of 11-member led by COCOMI convener Khuraijam Athouba to proceed and meet the Governor and chief secretary. The delegation first met state chief secretary Dr Puneet Kumar Goel at his office chamber at the South Block of state secretariat followed by a meeting with Governor Ajay Kumar Balla.
The chief secretary and commissioner (home) also joined the meeting between the delegation and the Governor.
“Governor assured us a written government response to our memorandums,” COCOMI convener Khuraijam Athouba told the reporters while coming out of the Lok Bhavan.
He said that they met the Governor and top officials to secure a government’s concrete assurance regarding the unresolved issues of resettlement of the IDPs. During the meeting, the delegation highlighted the grievances of the IDPs languishing in relief camps for a long time and urged authorities to take prompt action on the memorandum submitted during the month-long protest.
After a patient hearing, the Governor assured a written response to the memorandums COCOMI and the IDPs submitted during the month-long protest in December, he said.
The Governor further categorically stated that there was no “buffer zone” in Manipur, reaffirming the government’s position and calling for clarity to counter misinformation, Athouba said.
To a query on the future course of the COCOMI and IDPs, he said that the future actions would be determined based on the Governor’s response to the memorandums.
The COCOMI convener asserted that the protest rally held on Monday was a result of the government’s continued failure to provide a credible roadmap for rehabilitation and warned that public pressure would intensify if the demands of the IDPs are not addressed without further delay.