Manipur CM Biren Singh's appeal as ‘around 60 innocent people’ killed in violence

N Biren Singh appealed to people to bring peace and calm to the state hit by ethnic violence, killing around 60 people.

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Monday appealed to people to bring peace and calm to the state hit by ethnic violence, killing around 60 people.

People are evacuated by the Indian Army to a temporary shelter as they flee ethnic violence that has hit Manipur, near Imphal,(AFP)

“Around 60 innocent people have lost their lives, 231 people suffered injuries and around 1700 houses burnt down in the unfortunate incident of May 3. I appeal to people to bring peace and calm to the state. Transportation of stranded persons to their respective locations has started,” Biren Singh said.

The chief minister's appeal comes hours after the Supreme Court expressed concerns over the huge loss of life and property in the state and asked the Centre and the Manipur government to step up relief and rehabilitation efforts for those hit by the violence, besides protecting places of worship, many of which were targeted during the mayhem.

While listing out steps taken to deal with the situation, the Centre told a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that no untoward incidents have been reported in Manipur in the last two days and the situation there is gradually returning to normalcy.

Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on Wednesday after tribals organised a demonstration in the ten hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The clashes displaced around 23,000 people and resulted in the deaths of at least 54 people.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute about 40 per cent of the population and live mostly in the hill districts.

Several airlines were operating special flights from Imphal to help people stranded in Manipur return home, officials said on Monday, maintaining that this resulted in airfares on the route not rocketing out of control despite the massive jump in demand.

Regional carrier Flybig said it operates a Guhahati to Imphal flight via Tezu six days a week. But, since Saturday it has operated three additional flights between Imphal and Guwahati, on which people from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Maharashtra returned from Imphal.

(With inputs from agencies)