Ibobi nod to check border fencing

India losing land to Myanmar: Reports

























Imphal, July 31: Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has asked district authorities to take stock of border fencing taken up by the Assam Rifles along the Manipur-Myanmar border in Chandel district.

An official source said the cabinet discussed the issue during a meeting held yesterday following reports in the media that the border fence had divided several Manipur villages along the border.

The district administration has been asked to verify the veracity of the media reports, the source said.

The Assam Rifles is constructing the border fence to prevent cross-border smuggling and movement of arms and militants.

The security forces deployed in the state claimed that Manipur militants hiding in the neighbouring country frequently sneaked into Manipur, particularly in Chandel district, to carry out subversive activities.

Ibobi Singh’s directive comes at a time when the state unit of the Trinamul Congress is preparing to make a big issue out of the border fence work with an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

“We are compiling facts on the border fence. We will submit a representation to our party leader Mamata Banerjee and the Centre soon to seek a complete halt to the ongoing construction of the fence. We will do our level best to stop border-fencing activities,” Trinamul Congress state unit president Kim Gangte said.

Border settlers claimed that the actual border was along the foothills, while the fence was being constructed further up the hill. They said the distance between the original border and line along which Assam Rifles was constructing the fence now was around 500 metres.

The border settlers and various civil society bodies fear that India will give away Manipur’s vast tracts of land beyond the fence to Myanmar.

“When the NSCN (I-M) demanded Greater Nagaland, Ibobi Singh said an inch of Manipur’s land would not be compromised. Now he is silent on the Manipur-Myanmar border. The cabinet took up the matter only after it was reported in the media,” Gangte said.

She demanded intervention of the state government to stop the fencing, review the line of fencing and put it up at the proper border line.

“Is there any hidden agenda? There are border maps. Why did the Centre decide to construct the fence much inside Manipur land and also without caring to consult the border map. The Trinamul Congress will not accept the present border fence,” Gangte said.

If the Ibobi Singh-led state government fails to protect its land and people, it should step down, Gangte said.

The Kuki Students Organisation, Kuki Chiefs Association, Hill Tribal Council, Rural Peoples Development Federation and Information Centre for Hill Areas of Manipur and several other citizens’ organisations have also objected to the construction of the fence.

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Boy killed in clashes between Manipur villages

A 12-year-old boy was killed and two others were wounded in a gunfight. With tension running high in the area, police and paramilitary personnel have been rushed there. People in the two villages are not allowed to venture out of their houses for the time being.

Relations were strained between inhabitants of Sora, a Muslim village and Meenou, a tribal village, after the July 2, 2013 murder of D.K. Musipha, a brother of D.K. Korungthang, MLA from Chandel district. Police arrested a Muslim youth along with the mobile handset of Musipha. He was charged with murdering the elderly man for gain. The two villages are located just a kilometre from each other.

The current trouble started on Thursday evening after the reported abduction of a Sora man by unidentified persons. The abductors allegedly opened fire at Sora residents who were chasing them. Police said that there were reports of gunfire for a long time. They added that they had to resort to firing in the air to separate the two warring groups.

12 year-old Nizamuddin, was found with serious head injuries after the gunfight was over. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital. Two other Sona villagers, Safi Moulubi and Mohammad Rashid, who sustained injuries, are said to be out of danger.

Police said though tension is running high in the area, the situation is fully under control.

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Manipur drug haul case: Colonel, others granted bail

IMPHAL: Former defence PRO Colonel Ajay Chowdhry and six others, who were arrested with a huge consignment of Myanmar-bound drugs from Pallel market in Thoubal district in February, have been released on bail by a special court in Imphal.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court granted bail to the four accused on Monday and the remaining three, including Chowdhry, on Wednesday.

On February 24, Manipur Police commandos arrested Chowdhry, N Brojendro, an assistant manager in Indigo Airlines, R K Babloo (25), an army sepoy and three tribal youths - H Haokip (28), Minlal Haokip (25) and M Doungel (29) with the drugs worth around Rs 25 crore.

The pseudo ephedrine content drugs were confiscated from three jeeps in which they travelled at Pallel enroute to the border town of Moreh.

The police commandos also nabbed another accused, Seikholen Haokip, son of sitting Congress legislator TN Haokip, from his Deulaland residence in Imphal the following day along with a huge consignment of similar drugs.

As the court's order and relevant papers reached the authorities of Sajiwa Central Jail here on Thursday evening, the three - Chowdhry, Brojendro and Babloo - were released at that time.

In his bail application, Chowdhry pleaded that he was not aware of the presence of drugs in his bag and rejected that the drugs were seized from his possession, a source said adding that similar pleas were submitted by Brojendro and Babloo.

While granting the bail, the NDPS court, however, restricted the accused from leaving the state without prior permission from the court and that they should also cooperate with the investigation of the case.

Police have not submitted chargesheets against the seven before the court.

The Pallel incident came after police seized a huge consignment of similar drugs from Imphal airport on January 11. Even as the state cabinet on March 4 decided to hand over both the Pallel and Imphal airport drug seizure cases to the CBI, the central agency has only agreed to take up the cases a few days ago, a source said.

Taking serious note of the growing trend of trafficking drugs in Manipur, government agencies and a large number of anti-drug NGOs are maintaining sharp vigil in strategic areas to combat the menace.


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Manipur to review security of former insurgents

Suspension of Operations signatories, including KLA home secretary, were attacked on July 13.

The Manipur government has convened a high level meeting to look into the growing insecurity among the former insurgents, now in designated camps following the signing of the Suspension of Operations agreement, and the alleged mismanagement of the rehabilitation money due to them.

The meeting in Imphal, under the instructions of the Union Home Ministry, was attended by J. Sureshbabu, principal secretary (Home), L. M. Khoute, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) officers from Assam Rifles, state and central intelligence agencies.

Sixteen tirbal underground organisations in Manipur had signed the Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Union government and the Manipur government on August 22, 2008 after which they came over-ground. Two more non-tribal outfits had also come over-ground later. Apart from the fact that the Union government has not started political dialogue with these outfits, there have been allegations of attempted extortion by some outfits, arrest of some leaders who are in the peace camps and misappropriation of rehabilitation money by one leader.

The meeting took a serious view of the gunning down of Seikhopao Khongsai, Home Secretary of Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), a signatory to the SoO on July 13 evening. His two-year-old daughter and another boy were also killed. The killing has sent a grim message to other SoO signatories that they are not safe in the camps while a peaceful settlement remains elusive.

Meanwhile, members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council), Lallumba group, charged their president, Lallumba, with misappropriating Rs. 1.92 crore meant for their rehabilitation and fleeing the camp. Though Manipur's Home Minister Gaikhangam Gangmei gave a clean chit to Mr Lallumba, saying that he had not swindled the money and was in hospital after an accident, the representatives retorted saying that Mr Lallumba was not in any hospital and the money had been withdrawn from the bank. Mr Gangmei has not issued a rejoinder.

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Two trafficked Manipuri girls rescued in Bangalore

DIMAPUR, July 17 : Following request from the Kuki Students Association of Bangalore, Praja Rajakiya Vedike managed to rescue two teenage girls from city houses, where they were placed as domestic help against their will by an agent who trafficked them from Manipur.

A press note from the PRV informed that the 19 year old girls were lured by an agent and were promised jobs in a beauty parlor as beauticians for a salary of Rs.5000 per month along with free food and accommodation. They were brought to Bangalore by train by a Manipuri man from Moyrang. The two girls from Churachandpur district in Manipur were handed over to another agent Mala in Bangalore. “Mala, who also speaks Manipuri, stays in the city with her husband and after keeping the two girls for a couple of days they were both separated and placed as domestic maids, one in Banashankari and the other in JP Nagar on June 1,'' said Manohar Elavarthi of PRV.

He also added that the girls were “not happy with the job of maid and as they could not speak Hindi, English or Kannada and were isolated and living in fear.” They wanted to go back to Manipur but they were not allowed to go out nor talk to anyone, he added. He also informed that the mobile phones belonging to the girls were taken away and that they got them back only after a week. However, the girls found that all their contact numbers were deleted. “One of the girls, managed to call her mother back in Manipur, who in turn enquired with the agent there,'' Manohar added.

After their parents failed to get any proper response, they apparently filed a police complaint and an FIR both in Moyrang and Churachandpur. Later, they informed the Kuki Students Association in Churachandpur who requested the local Kuki Students Association of Bangalore. Both the girls belong to the Kuki tribe. This association contacted Praja Rajakiya Vedike for help as the latter ran a helpline for North East students in Bangalore.

Members of PRV managed to locate the Agent and convinced him to get the girls to a public place for talks. They initially demanded Rs 30,000 for expenses incurred on the girls and said that “only if the amount is paid, the girls would be released.” However, PVR members managed to mobilise the public and did not allow them to take back the girld. “We threatened them of police action and one of the agents took our activist and left the other girl with him and disappeared,'' Manohar said.

``The girls are provided a safe place by the North East Welfare Association of Karnataka and police (DCP South and Adugodi Police) were also informed about the details when they called us,'' he added.

Praja Rajakiya Vedike in the press note has demanded that the police of both the states trace and alert the traffickers immediately and investigate into the racquet to find out if other victims are still untraced. “We want them to be arrested under anti-trafficking and SC, ST Prevention of Atrocities Act,” it stated. PRV also has also demanded better protection for people of North East in Bangalore.
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Landslide blocks Kohima highway

KOHIMA: Heavy landslide caused by incessant rain for the last couple of weeks has blocked National Highway 29 along Phesama village, about 12 km from here. This has affected Manipur as it is one of the main highways connecting the state with the rest of the country.

A stretch of about 200 feet of the highway has been swept down to a distance of 500 to 600 feet into the valley. The landslide has completely cut off movement of vehicles, secluding the southern Angami areas and neighbouring state of Manipur.

Hundreds of trucks from both sides of Manipur and Nagaland carrying essential items to Manipur were left stranded on the highway. Light vehicles are being allowed to ply through the exit road to Kisama, bringing some relief to a large number of hapless commuters.

A government statement said, "A portion of NH-29 fell off at the exit junction of Kisama on July 12 evening in Phesama village. This has caused huge cracks in the hills above the roads. A stretch of about 200 feet has gone down to a distance of 500 to 600 feet into the valley."

Two legislators of southern Angami, parliamentary secretary for housing, treasuries and accounts, Vikho-o Yhoshu and parliamentary secretary for IPR and printing and stationery, Kropol Vitsu, visited the affected site on Saturday. All of them expressed concern and called for early repair of the road.

The Border Road Organization (BRO) official present at the site said restoration work would take time. He said that the situation might worsen if it rain continuously.

A traffic police officer said Manipur-bound heavy vehicles would take the Chakhabama route via Pfutsero to Tadubi or Chakhabama route via Pfutsero to Jessami until the road is repaired.

BRO personnel and district administration assisted by Phesama villagers were seen engaged in clearing the debris at the site. The Phesama Youth Organization (PYO) deployed volunteers to help the stranded passengers on both sides of the highway. Meanwhile, the Southern Angami Youth Organization (SAYO) has asked taxis plying in southern Angami areas not to exploit the commuters by hiking fare.

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Two trafficked girls from Manipur rescued

Two Manipuri women, who were allegedly trafficked, were rescued here on Sunday afternoon after they were forced to work as domestic help in the city.

Manohar Elavarthi of Praja Rajakiya Vedike, which was involved in the rescue operation, said the girls were lured by agents and were promised jobs in a beauty parlour along with free food and accommodation. However, they were made to work as domestic help much against their wishes. Although the girls wanted to go back to Manipur, their employers did not allow them to go out or talk to anyone. One of the girls managed to call her mother in Manipur and the parents contacted the association for help. The members of the PRV located the agent on the pretext of employing the girls. “They initially asked us for money but we managed we rescue the girls,” he said. Mr. Manohar said that they would soon approach the City Police Commissioner regarding the matter as well. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) H.S. Revanna said; “We were informed about the incident by a third party but we have not received any complaint,” he said.

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36-hour general strike affects life in Manipur hills

Imphal: Normal life was affected in all five hill districts of Manipur as a 36-hour general strike by a hill-based committee began here early Monday morning to press its demand for separate 'Kukiland' by reorganising the state.

Official reports said markets, shops, business setups and educational institutions remained closed in most parts of the hills, particularly Kuki-settled areas of Senapati, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Churachandpur and Chandel districts.

The strike called by the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) started at 5 AM in the morning.

Transport services between Manipur and neighbouring states were also cancelled as the two major national highways Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati (39) and Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar pass through Kuki-settled areas, sources said.

The buses have also stopped plying between Imphal and hill district headquarters, they added.

A spokesman of the KSDC said after the 36-hour general strike they would impose indefinite economic blockade on all routes in the state, including the two national highways, till the central and state government initiated steps for holding talks with the KSDC.

He said the central government had earlier informed the KSDC in writing to hold talks with it some months ago but they had remained silent over the issue saying that the state government was reluctant to hold talks.

Further agitations programme would be decided during the indefinite economic blockade, KSDC sources said, adding that goods would not be allowed to be transported to the district headquarters from Imphal during the blockade.

Various civil organisations including All Manipur Students Union and state government have strongly objected to Manipur's division saying they would not allow it at any cost.

Official sources said other alternative ways were being looked into to solve the problem of KSDC.

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Three more Blood banks in Manipur soon

IMPHAL: With the trend of voluntary blood donation (VBD) catching up in Manipur, at least three more blood banks will be set up in the hills, including Moreh bordering Myanmar, this year, a senior officer of the state-run Manipur State AIDS Control Society (Macs) said.

The other two banks will be opened at Thoubal district headquarters and Senapati district hospital, Macs deputy director LR Kom said at a workshop on VBD in Imphal on Saturday.

He added that the state already has four blood banks at Rims Hospital and Shija Hospitals in Imphal West, JNIMS Hospital in Imphal East and Churachandpur District Hospital.

Though Manipur witnessed a meager voluntary blood donation figure, contributing only 9 per cent to the total requirement of blood in 2008-2009, it increased to 21 per cent in 2009-2010 and jumped up to 52 per cent in 2010-2011. During 2011-2012, the figure dwindled to 43 per cent before going up to 48 per cent in 2012-2013.

The blood bank at Shija Hospitals christened 'Shija Blood and Transfusion Services' equipped with Nucleic Acid Technology (NAT) was opened under PPP model, Kom said.

Another Macs deputy director L Tomcha Khuman, who personally donated blood 32 times, expressed optimism that the rate of VBD will increase.
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NGO offers helping hand to Manipur youth

Sarhad will start helpline from July 15

Keeping in mind the rising attacks on Manipuri students as well as issues of trafficking faced by the youth, non-government organisation Sarhad has decided to extend a helping hand to them.
Starting from July 15, the NGO would start a helpline aimed at rescue and rehabilitation of Manipuri youth who fall prey to child trafficking, a highly prevalent issue in the north eastern state.
Addressing a press conference held in the city, Sarhad chief Sharad Nahar said, “An estimated 500 plus youth from Manipur were rescued from various parts of the country in the last one year.
“The youth, mainly belonging to the tribal communities, fall prey to fake promises offered under the pretext of better education and jobs in bigger cities. But they end up being involved in malpractices and get into wrong company.”
The team of Sarhad aims to trace such victims in Pune and Mumbai and would work to provide all necessary help to them lead a normal life.
The helpline that would cater to child trafficking in Manipur, Maharashtra and Karnataka would start functioning on July 15, added Nahar.

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Manipur king ends fast against palace eviction move

By Subir Bhaumik Calcutta

Manipur's royal family faces eviction from the Sana Konung palace

The titular king of India's Manipur state has withdrawn his hunger strike in protest against the state government's decision to evict him from his ancestral palace.

An aide to Leishemba Sanajaoba said he would hold talks with the government. He began his fast on 24 June.
The government wants to renovate the palace and turn it into a tourist site.
But aides say this is a violation of an agreement between the royal family and the state government.
Puyam Tomcha, the royal advisor, told the BBC that King Sanajaoba broke his fast after being requested to do so by several women's groups and non-governmental organisations.
"They wanted the king to stop the hunger strike and start a dialogue with the Manipur government. The king heeded their request," he said.

King Sanajaoba feels let down, aides say

Aides to the king say the government's decision to take over the Sana Konung palace and surrounding land and develop it as a heritage site is in violation of a 2006 agreement between the once powerful royal family and the state government.
"The memorandum between the two clearly said that no decision would be taken about the palace without his consent," Mr Tomcha said.
The government argues that much of the land around the palace has lost its traditional character because it was sold by the former King Okendra and used for construction of high-rise buildings.
The Manipur royal family occupied the Kangla palace after the 1891 Anglo-Manipur War and built the Sana Konung for the royals to live in.
Later, it became a military headquarters, housing the paramilitary Assam Rifles, after the state joined the Indian federation.
However, the royals, who now have little real power or influence, continue to live in the palace.

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Security tightened to protect non-Manipuri labourers

IMPHAL: Manipur government has taken up certain security measures to protect the non-Manipuri migrant labourers following recent attacks on them by unidentified miscreants by exploding grenades with the latest attack occurring on June 27 night in which two non-locals were killed and three others seriously injured here, official sources said on Tuesday.

Official sources said various mobile check posts have been set up different places where there was huge concentration of non-local migrant labourers, adding that routine patrolling at these areas have been also been intensified.

Police inspectors, posted different parts of the state, have been called up and were being used at Imphal and other city areas to discharge their duties besides the normal routine work, sources said adding that mobile frisking to intercept miscreants has also been intensified at different places.

Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam who also holds the home portfolio had said some days ago that the government would not only intensify the security measures to protect the non-Manipuris but also try to find out the persons who were behind the attack on these people.

Official sources said June 27 incident at Uripok area here in which two non-locals were killed and three others injured when the unidentified miscreants hurled and exploded a powerful grenade at a rented house was the second such attack on non-locals this year.

Sources said unidentified persons had exploded a powerful grenade at a bakery factory at Chingmeirong area on the outskirts of Imphal on May 4 this year in which five persons, all non-local migrant labourers, were seriously injured.

In the past two years, official sources said at least 15 non-local migrant labourers have been killed at different places in Manipur.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for these incidents. But a paper attached to the back of a victim, about a year ago, read 'go back to your state,' sources added.


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