United Zeliangrong Youth Federation (UZYF) has reminded the state government of its May 12 ultimatum while alleging that the government “has either completely lost rational thinking or consciously devised a mechanism to alter the age old traditional boundary and victimised the Zeliangrong people of Peren district.” In a statement, UZYF urged the government to take its ultimatum seriously and initiate process for complete eviction of all illegal villages.
It alleged that with “unsolicited security and protection” to illegal settlements by government functionaries, there have been developmental activities going on by using heavy machineries, however, it was demanded of the land owners to maintain status quo.
UZYF claimed that the land owner’s village Lamhainamdi was under strict vigilance and not even allowed to chop firewood for use. “This misplaced sense of maintaining law and order and ‘status quo’ by the state government needs immediate review and corrective measure,” it added. UZYF asked the government as to whether huge deployment of security forces was for the purpose of taking punitive measures or to empower illegal activities.
While claiming that it had time and again presented facts and figures to proof the illegality of the mushrooming villages in the land of Lamhai people under Peren district, UZYF said it only received lukewarm response from the government, adding that their “cry to fend off the illegal settlers from our land continues to go unheard and any sort of help from the government is gradually becoming a distant dream.”
UZYF, therefore, said that if the government continue to remain “deaf, dumb and blind”, it will be left with no choice “but to resort and intensify means and ways to protect our God given land.”