Avoid shutdowns and blockades, adopt democratic means of protest: Manipur CM

Imphal, Aug 30 (IANS) Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Sunday appealed to all sections of society not to resort to shutdowns or blockades to air their grievances, saying such agitations sometimes lead to unwanted violent incidents, and urged them to adopt other democratic means of protest instead.

Before leaving for New Delhi on Sunday, the Chief Minister said that both the state and Central governments are always committed to fulfilling the aspirations and addressing the concerns of the people of the state.

Therefore, calling a bandh will not serve any purpose and will instead create more hardship for the people, he said in a statement.

During a bandh, the main sufferers are daily wage earners and students, the Chief Minister said. He said that women vegetable vendors suffer a lot during a bandh as they earn their livelihood by selling their farm products daily, and any disruption in their work causes immense hardship to their families. Khemchand Singh said that students also suffer a lot as their normal academic atmosphere gets disrupted by bandhs. Saying that students are the future pillars of society, he appealed to all stakeholders not to disrupt the academic calendar in the state.

The Chief Minister said that he was travelling to New Delhi to meet top central leaders and discuss various ongoing issues of the state.

Khemchand Singh appreciated the role played by the leaders of the 14 civil society organisations (CSOs) and the delegation of MLAs who recently campaigned in New Delhi for the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur by meeting and pursuing the issue with Central leaders and government officials.

“Their campaign has yielded a positive response in New Delhi,” he noted.

The Chief Minister also warned any agitators who break the law, attempting to create a chaotic situation, of stringent action against them.

He said that after more than three years, the road transport service between Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam has resumed without any trouble. The Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati bus service will surely ease the burden of poor people who had to buy costly air tickets from Imphal to Guwahati, Khemchand Singh said.

The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) organised massive agitations mainly in the Imphal Valley region from midnight on August 17, demanding updation of the NRC in Manipur before Census-2027. Normal life was badly affected on August 18 and 19 in view of the 48-hour shutdown.

Various student and youth organisations, women’s bodies, including the influential ‘Meira Paibi (women torchbearers)’, and civil society organisations have supported the shutdown.

The Education Department closed all educational institutions in the state for three days from August 20, citing the “prevailing law and order situation”. Several district administrations in the Imphal Valley region of Manipur have either deferred or cancelled the training programmes for enumerators and supervisors under Census-2027 amid protests demanding the updation of the NRC.

Amid protests and agitations demanding updation of the NRC in Manipur, the Chief Minister earlier told a student delegation that the issue would be discussed in the ensuing state Assembly session beginning September 2.

–IANS

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