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PM Modi may unveil ₹8,500 crore projects during Manipur visit
PM Modi will visit Manipur on September 13 to launch projects worth ₹8,500 crore, marking his first trip since ethnic violence erupted in May 2023
Imphal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely lay the foundation stones of and inaugurate development projects worth ₹8,500 crore in Manipur when he is scheduled to visit the strife-torn state on September 13, officials said on Thursday.
This will be his first visit to the state since ethnic violence broke out between Kukis and Meiteis in May 2023, leaving over 260 people dead and another 50,000 homeless.
Also Read: Clashes in Churachandpur ahead of PM Modi’s Manipur visit
According to officials familiar with the developments, the PM is scheduled to lay the foundation stones for various development projects valued at ₹7,300 crore from the Peace Ground in Churachandpur, where Kukis are in the majority.
The PM is also set to inaugurate infrastructure projects worth ₹1,200 crore from the state capital Imphal dominated by the Meiteis, the officials said.
Among the projects to be launched or inaugurated might include a working women hostel, PM-DevINE, a super speciality healthcare facility in five hill districts, Manipur Infotech Development Project to provide employment avenues to young people, and Eklavya model residential schools for empowering young tribal people. Modi might also lay the foundation of Manipur Bhavans to be built in Kolkata and Delhi.
The officials said that the Prime Minister is also expected to interact with some of the displaced people in Imphal and Churachandpur during his visit.
Preparations are on for the PM’s visit at Kangla Fort in Imphal and the Peace Ground in Churachandpur. The Manipur Traffic Police on Thursday issued a detailed advisory for September 13 in Imphal.
Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Spear Corps, undertook a high-level visit to Manipur on Thursday. An Indian Army statement said the Corps Commander visited critical security zones along the Maphitel Ridge and Maphou Dam area in Kangpokpi District, where he was briefed by the commanding officer on the current dynamics of the security zone.
Manipur has been roiled by sweeping ethnic violence since May 2023 in a widespread conflict that has claimed at least 260 people and displaced another 50,000 people. The clashes, which first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities, has since singed almost every community in the state, prompting the dismissal of the state government in February this year. Despite thousands of security personnel fanned across the state, violence has continued to erupt sporadically.
Ahead of the meeting, a major Naga group, the United Naga Council, on Thursday called off its blockade along the national highways in Naga-majority areas of the state following a request from the government. This came even as the Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate of major insurgent organisations in Manipur, called for a total shutdown in the state on September 13. The shutdown which will effect from 1am of September 13, will not cover medical services, emergency services and water supply.
Moreover, 13 office bearers of a local Bharatiya Janata Party unit resigned, but the party called it a stunt.
The UNC had launched an indefinite embargo along the national highways from midnight on September 8 to protest the fencing work along the India-Myanmar border and the scrapping of the free movement regime. A UNC statement said that the organisation held an emergency meeting in Senapati district and decided to temporarily suspend the indefinite blockade. The suspension came into effect at 6 pm on Thursday.
Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, in a letter to the UNC on Wednesday, had said the ministry of home affairs has been engaging with the UNC on the issue of fencing the border between India and Myanmar in Naga-inhabited areas. “The next tripartite meeting with UNC will be held on a mutually convenient date and venue,” Goel said, adding that any form of agitation in this regard may be withdrawn in the larger public interest.
The CorCOM, comprising sixbanned underground outfits, alleged that there was no intention to resolve the crisis and that the visit was aimed at strengthening “proxy wars” and consolidating Delhi’s control. “Modi and his BJP government must take responsibility for the Manipur crisis,” it said.
BJP leaders, including the party’s northeast in-charge Sambit Patra, arrived in Imphal on Wednesday ahead of the expected visit. They held a closed-door meeting of BJP leaders at the party’s state office. Twenty-nine lawmakers and former chief minister N Biren Singh attended the meeting. A second meeting with the allies was expected to focus on the party’s strategy and plans in Manipur.
Authorities were preparing for Modi to address two rallies in Imphal and Churachandpur, the flashpoints of the violence. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla met Kuki-Zo lawmakers in Churachandpur on Tuesday in the run-up to Modi’s possible September 13 visit. Two days earlier, he met Meitei legislators in Imphal.
In Kamjong district, 13 office bearers of 43/Phungyar BJP Mandal and Morcha of Manipur Pradesh, tendered a collective resignation. The resignation was led by Ngachonmi Ramshang, special invitee, BJP Manipur Pradesh, along with several senior active members and primary members, a joint statement said.
“We members expressed our deep concern over the present state of affairs within the party and highlighted a lack of consultation, inclusiveness, and respect for grassroots leadership as major reasons.”
But BJP leader Awung Shimray Hopingson dismissed the move. “The resignation is a publicity stunt, trying to defame BJP during this crucial moment of Modi’s most likely visit to Manipur. Phungyar assembly constituency still has strong BJP executive members.”
