Life is crawling back to normal in violence-hit Manipur as large number of people came out of their homes in the state capital Imphal to buy essential items with the curfew being relaxed for a few hours on Monday morning. In Churachandpur, the epicentre of the violence on May 3, curfew was relaxed from 7 AM-10 AM on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he was thankful to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his supervision and support to help improve the situation in the violence-hit state. “I have been constantly in touch with the office of the Home Minister to monitor the situation and ensure that no further violence takes place in the state,” he said.
Here are the top 10 developments from the state:
-Clashes broke out on Wednesday (May 3) after tribals organised a demonstration in the ten hill districts of the state to protest against the politically influential Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The death toll since then has risen to 54 in the state.
-Over 10,000 Army, paramilitary and central forces along with state police have been deployed in the state after the violence erupted in the state since May 3.
-Officials said that so far 23,000 people have been rescued from the violence-hit areas and moved to military garrisons.
-A 38-year-old woman, who was evacuated by Assam Rifles in Manipur during the ongoing violence in the State, delivered a healthy baby at the camp. The woman, identified as Esther Hontah delivered the baby at the Mantripukhri camp in Imphal by Assam Rifles doctors, according to the public relations officer Kohima & Imphal of the Ministry of Defence, reported ANI.
-The curfew, imposed on Wednesday after the violence broke out, was relaxed from 5 am to 8 am in Imphal West district to allow people to buy essential items, including vegetables, groceries and medicines.
-On Sunday, Congress hit out at Chief Minister N Biren Singh over the situation in Manipur, saying he cannot absolve himself and “his patrons in New Delhi and Nagpur” of the responsibility for the horrific violence and killings in the state. In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The CM of Manipur finally condescended to meet with all political parties and some civil society groups. But he cannot absolve himself and his patrons in New Delhi and Nagpur of the responsibility for the horrific violence and killings in the state.”
The Congress has been warning of the consequences of what the RSS/BJP has been doing in the northeast, he said, adding, “But now is the time for a collective resolve to bring Manipur to peace and harmony.”
-Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that President’s rule must be imposed in the state and slammed the BJP government saying that the “voters in Manipur were feeling grossly betrayed”.
“As the Manipur violence persists, all right-thinking Indians must ask themselves what happened to the much-vaunted good governance we had been promised. The voters of Manipur are feeling grossly betrayed just a year after putting the BJP in power in their state. It’s time for President’s Rule; the state Govt is just not up to the job they were elected to do,” he tweeted.
-The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a batch of pleas on the Manipur situation including one by a ruling BJP MLA and chairman of the Hills Area Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly Dinganglung Gangmei challenging the high court order on the issue of Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community and a PIL by a tribal outfit for an SIT probe into the May 3 violence. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narashima and JB Pardiwala is scheduled to hear the matter.
The PIL by the tribal outfit alleged that the attacks began on May 3 and several churches and hospitals were also damaged when the mobs went on a rampage, burning houses and vehicles and business establishments belonging to tribals. It claimed that 30 tribals were killed and 132 people were injured but “neither FIR was registered nor is there any investigation taking place”, reported PTI.
-Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) took various measures to help passengers at the Imphal airport, while the airlines have waived rescheduling and cancellation charges for flights to and from the capital city of Imphal. A total of 10,531 passengers have travelled via the Imphal airport, which handled 108 flights in the last few days, reported PTI.
Andhra Pradesh rescued more than 100 students, while Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said 22 students from the state were stuck there and arrangements were being made to bring them back home. Tripura rescued 208 of its students from Manipur and Nagaland evacuated 676 of its people from the violence-hit state. Sikkim also rescued 128 students.