The barricades from Kwakta to Kangvai were removed today.
Guwahati:
Since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 175 people have been killed, 1,118 injured and 33 missing, state police say. There are 96 unclaimed bodies in morgues.
The state government has released some key statistics on the impact of violence in the northeastern state, which has been going on for over four months despite the state and union government’s efforts to restore normalcy.
At least 5,172 cases of arson have been reported, including 4,786 houses and 386 religious places (254 churches and 132 temples). Since the violence began, 5,668 weapons have been looted from the state’s armory. Of these, security forces have recovered 1,329. Another 15,050 rounds of ammunition and 400 bombs were recovered.
Security forces have destroyed at least 360 illegal bunkers in the state, the data said.
The barricades set up between Phougakchao Ikhai and Kangvai villages – covering the approximately one-kilometre stretch along the Imphal-Churachandpur road – were also removed on Thursday. The barricades served as the boundary of a ‘buffer zone’ between the hills and the valley, manned by security forces, to ensure that people from the warring Meitei and Kuki communities do not cross the border and engage in violence.
Meanwhile, the Manipur High Court has now admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the International Meiteis Forum (IMF) seeking to quash the factual report published by the Editors’ Guild of India on the ethnic violence in the Indian state of India to destroy. stands. The PIL also sought directions barring the use of the said report by any authority or body investigating the conflict.
Meiteis constitute about 53 percent of Manipur’s population and live mainly in the Imphal Valley, while tribes, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 percent and live mainly in the hill districts.
A ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, organized on May 3 in the hill districts to protest the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status, turned into a full-blown ethnic conflict, leaving thousands displaced.
