Manmohan arrives in Manipur

Singh, who was accompanied by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, will lay the foundation stone for 97 km Jiribam-Tupul railway line.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday arrived in Manipur on a two-day visit amidst tight security.

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Singh, who was accompanied by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, will lay the foundation stone for 97 km Jiribam-Tupul railway line at Jiribam, over 200 kms west of Imphal, later in the day before proceeding to the state capital, official sources said.

Singh, who arrived in the border town of Jiribam by a special Indian Air Force helicopter from Silchar in Assam, was received by Manipur Governor SS Sidhu and Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, they said.

The police were on maximum alert in the wake of separatist Revolutionary People's Front's call for, what it described as, "24-hour curfew" from midnight of Friday as a mark of protest to Singh's visit.