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posted by: Pragati Pal
Last updated: Jun 17, 2023 at 09:55 am IST
Army personnel, Assam Rifles, CAPF and Police during ‘Wide Area Domination Operations’ to bring peace and harmony to the violence stricken areas of Manipur. (PTI file image)
The state government has sought Rs 10 crore as immediate relief for those who are currently staying in shelters in various parts of Mizoram since ethnic clashes broke out in the neighboring state on May 3.
An official statement said the Mizoram government urged the center on Friday to expedite the release of funds to provide relief to more than 11,000 displaced people from violence-hit Manipur.
The state government has sought Rs 10 crore as immediate relief for those who are currently staying in shelters in various parts of Mizoram since ethnic clashes broke out in the neighboring state on May 3. During the day, the state’s tourism minister, Robert Romawiah Roeti, called the union home minister, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, in Delhi and urged him to sanction the fund as soon as possible, the statement said.
Bhalla, for his part, told Rowett that the center would soon sanction the relief package. During the meeting, Roeti said that more than 11,000 people from Manipur, mostly women, children and elderly people, are currently staying in shelters in Mizoram due to ethnic violence in the neighboring state.
He said the Mizoram government, NGOs and churches are providing shelters and food for the displaced. Noting that Mizoram is “in dire need of the centre’s assistance”, Roeti said the state government may face a crisis if the proposed relief fund for the displaced is not made available.
He also urged the center to take measures to restore peace in Manipur. According to the Mizoram home department, 11,503 people from Manipur have entered the state till Friday.
It added that among them, 8,634 people lived outside the relief camps, while 2,869 people resided in 35 camps set up by the government and villages. The statement stated that the Kulisib district currently hosts the largest number of displaced people at 4,109, followed by Aizawl at 3,825 and Saitwal at 2,809.
The displaced, who belong to the Koki-Hammer-Zumi-Mizu group, have taken refuge in 11 districts of the state. The Kuki-Hmar-Zomi-Mizo community, collectively known as the Kukis, share ethnic ties with the Mizos.
The two districts of Mizoram – Aizawl and Saitual – share a 90 km boundary with the Churachandpur and Pherzawl districts of Manipur. At least nine people were killed and 10 injured when suspected militants attacked a village in Khamenlok district of Manipur in the early hours of Wednesday.
More than 100 people have been killed in the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the state that broke out a month ago. The government imposed a curfew in 11 districts and blocked the internet in a bid to stop the spread of rumors in the state.
Clashes first broke out on 3 May after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organized in the hill regions to protest the Mitte community’s claim to Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 percent of the population of Manipur and most of them live in the Imphal Valley. Tribes – Nagas and Kukis – make up another 40% of the population and reside in the hill regions.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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