IMPHAL, Nov 13: The number of people losing faith in the
government is fast rising with time as the latter is yet to
address the crisis in Manipur even after six months.
A women organization recently cautioned that the
womenfolk will launch various forms of agitations if the
government fails to take up concrete steps to resolve the
crisis unfolding in the state.
Vendors of Ima Keithel (all-women-run market in the heart of
Imphal) suspended their business of the day on Sunday and
staged a sit-in-protest to highlight the plights of the people
owing to the prolonging crisis in Manipur.
The protest carried out under the aegis of the Khwairamband
Keithel Joint Coordinating Committee also registered a strong
protest over state government’s inability to trace the missing
persons since the eruption of the violence in the state on
May 3 last.
Talking to reporters at the protest site, convener of the
committee, L Mema Devi expressed anguish over the
government’s inability to resolve the crisis even after more
than six months.
She said that while the case of disappearance of two
students – Phijam Hemanjit (20) and Hijam Linthoingambi, a
girl aged 17 years –is yet to be solved, another two students
went missing in Kangpokpi district.
She questioned why the state government is not able to
trace the whereabouts of the missing students even as the
police claimed to have arrested the suspects involved in the
two missing cases.
“In such a situation when students go on missing one after
another, how can the people, particularly the womenfolk of
the society, remain silent?” she asked.
At the same time, she questioned the reason behind
authorities not taking up action against the militants
under suspension of operation (SoO) with the government
“even as there is enough evidence that they conspired with
the foreign militants to disturb the internal security of the
country”.
Since the outbreak of the violence, a large number of central
security forces have been deployed in the state. “However,
they did nothing to control the unlawful activities of the
militants”, she lamented.
“Inability on the part of the government to check the illegal
activities compelled the people to ask whether the profits
earned from poppy cultivation in the hill districts are being
shared with the people in the governance,” she said.
“Why aren’t mass operations conducted to flush out the
cross border terrorists from Myanmar conducted till now?”
she further asked.
“If compared to the large number of Indian security forces
deployed in the state, their (foreign terrorists) number is very
few. It will not take even a week to eliminate them”, she said.
(NNN)
