Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday said that the strife-torn state is slowly returning back to normalcy. The Chief Minister made the statement while interacting with media persons on the sidelines of the 132nd Patriot’s Day celebrations in the Imphal West district.
“Manipur is limping back to normalcy. Now, we seek the cooperation of a cross-section of society for the preservation of the territorial integrity of the state at any cost. Our government, with the support of the common people, will maintain peace and prosperity, apart from keeping the territorial integrity of the state intact,” Chief Minister Singh said.
The valley-dominated Meitei community accounts for 53 per cent of Manipur’s population while the tribal Kuki and Nagas constitute around 40 per cent of the state’s population and are inhabitants of eight hill districts.
The Manipur police and around 60,000 security personnel from the central forces have been manning the vulnerable areas of the state to control the ethnic clashes.
Violence in the state has so far claimed the lives of at least 160 people while several hundred others have been left injured.
Moreover, the clashes have displaced thousands of people forcing them to take refuge in relief centres.
Clashes between Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi community broke out after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ wanorts organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status on May 3. The state has been on a boil since then.
Meanwhile, there has been no report of any untoward incident in the state in the past 72 hours.
In another development, authorities in Manipur’s restive region increased security precautions in response to a call by militant groups to boycott the 77th Independence Day celebrations.
