Over 2,000 people evacuated from violence-hit Manipur

Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur to tackle clashes that broke out between the Meitei community and Kuki tribals last week

Authorities have relocated over 2,250 residents from violence-hit Manipur to Assam in the past three days, with around 300 of them moving towards Mizoram, according to the Cachar district administration.

Army personnel rescue people from a violence-hit area in Manipur on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

Officials said so far eight shelter camps have been set up in Cachar’s Lakhipur, while some temporary ones have been put in place in Sonai.

“The Manipur residents started moving towards Assam on Friday night and by Sunday evening, 2,252 people, mostly women, children and the elderly, shifted here,” an official said.

“Kukis and Mizos share a good bond and we believe that we’ll be more protected there,” said a 45-year-old migrant from Manipur moving to Mizoram.

Cachar deputy commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha on Sunday told HT that they are providing adequate food and water to the refugees, while the police department is providing adequate security and senior officials are visiting the camps.

Jiribam MLA Md. Achab Uddin on Saturday visited areas in Assam where Manipur residents have shifted and said that they left their homes mostly because of rumours. “I have visited the disturbed areas...there was not much violence. People were afraid that violence from Churachandpur and surrounding areas may spread there,” he said.

The Manipur MLA, however, said things are getting back to normal in the state. The Indian Army and other security forces are handling the situation efficiently and the people who migrated will be able to return home in a few days, he said.

On Sunday, former Lakhipur MLA Rajdeep Goala visited the camps and arranged additional food and water for the camps. He said that apart from the adequate supply of essentials by the government, local NGOs are helping the migrants.

Assam Rifles on Friday night rescued a pregnant woman from violence-hit Manipur and brought her to a shelter camp. According to security forces, they have rescued 51 Assam residents from Manipur who were hiding in a truck.

“We received information that armed people were entering Assam by a vehicle on Friday night. When the truck was stopped at the Jiribam-Tamenglong border, we realised that the people in the truck were innocent Assam residents working in Manipur,” Assam Rifles said in a statement.

They further said that false rumours are fuelling insecurity among the people in Manipur. “Apart from maintaining law and order situations in violence-hit areas, we are proactively taking all steps to prevent false rumours in Jiribam district,” they said.

Cachar superintendent of police Numal Mahatta on Sunday said he is in constant touch with his counterpart in Jiribam and the situation is improving there. “The Jiribam SP told me that things are getting better and the migrants will be able to return home soon,” Mahatta said, appealing to the locals and the migrants to ignore rumours.

“We have support from Assam Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force. We are monitoring each and every move even at night,” he added.

The Nagaland government, along with security forces, on Sunday evacuated 676 of its civilians, mostly students and working professions based in Imphal, following the clashes that broke out on May 3.

The civilians were brought back to Nagaland in 24 buses escorted by security forces. Deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton was among those present to receive the civilians.

“Happy about the safe return of people from Nagaland. I express my appreciation to all those involved in coordinating the process, and to the paramilitary forces, especially the Assam Rifles for partnering with the state government in ensuring the return of our people from Manipur,” Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio tweeted.

Officials said at least 650 more people from Nagaland who are currently in Imphal will be evacuated over the next few days in a phase-wise manner. The state government has appealed to all its citizens who are in Manipur and wish to return home due to the prevailing situation to be patient and contact the state helpline numbers.

The Tripura government arranged two commercial flights to evacuate nearly 208 of its students after speaking to Union home minister Amit Shah and civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Around 50 students returned to the state on Sunday with the support of royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma who provided them with free air tickets.

Mizoram rescued 131 of its citizens from Imphal, with another 37 and 28 to be evacuated on May 7 and 8, respectively.

On Sunday, 50 Mizo students were evacuated from Imphal on a commercial flight and taken to Guwahati, and 25 left for Mizoram by bus in the evening.

Another 81 Mizos left Imphal and flew to Kolkata on Sunday evening.