Noney, Pherzawl districts inaugurated ; Insurgents no longer enjoy mass support : Ibobi
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 16 2016: Insurgent groups operating in the State no longer enjoy mass support even though people could not express their objection out of fear, asserted Chief Minister Okram Ibobi.

He said this while speaking at the inaugural function of newly created Noney district held at Longmai Common Ground today.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister went to Pherzawl and inaugurated Pherzawl district in the presence of many Ministers and high ranking officials.

Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, Forest and Environment Minister I Hemochandra, Hill Areas Committee Chairman Dr Chaltonlien Amo, DGP LM Khaute and many other high ranking officials were also present at the inaugural function.

Noney, Pherzawl districts inaugurated

There are many organisations which fret when the Government implements any development or welfare programme in any part of the State, said the Chief Minister.

Some of the insurgent groups which fought for independence at one point of time have now transformed themselves into ethno-exclusive insurgent groups, Ibobi remarked.

There are also many organisations based in the valley which cannot venture beyond Awang Sekmai in the North and Pallel in the South.

At the same time, many organisations based in the hills have been accusing the State Government of being communal.

But one would definitely like to ask whether those organisations are not communal, Ibobi asserted.

The seven new districts were created for administrative convenience.

None of these districts belong to a single community exclusively.

The State Government has been implementing several development in both the hills and valley of the district.

But frequent disturbances by subversive elements have been impeding the development works particularly in hill areas.

"People no longer support insurgent groups.

They would be completely isolated from the masses after sometime on account of their own activities", the Chief Minister stated.

Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam asserted that the Noney district is a gift of the Government to the people of Noney but the Government would never back off just because some elements have been opposing the same initiative.

The creation of seven new districts is the first step towards a slew of development programmes which would be implemented in the coming years.

Every community of the State has equal rights to all the resources of the State.

All the people need to nurture a healthy habit of sharing and co-existence.

The creation of seven new districts was not done based on ethnography.

All the people ought to be rejoicing over the creation of the new districts, Gaikhangam stated.

Commenting on attack launched by militants against security forces at Noney yesterday, Gaikhangam stated that the security forces did not retaliate not because they were afraid of the militants.

They (security forces) restrained themselves considering the collateral damages that might be done to innocent civilians.

The Deputy Chief Minister stated that he knew who and where the militants were given shelter.

Such nexus would not bring any positive outcome.

Those insurgents neither know any theory of insurgency nor do they follow any principle.

Notably, a large number of security forces were deployed around Longmai Common Ground to thwart any untoward incident.

Stringent security measures were also put in place along Imphal-Noney road.

The inaugural function of Pherzawl district was graced by Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, Revenue, Forest and Environment Minister I Hemochandra, HAC Chairman and Tipaimukh AC MLA Dr Chaltonlien Amo and Parliamentary Secretary (Horticulture and CADA) Vungzagin Valte as presidium members.

Churachandpur DC Lunminthang Haokip, Pherzawl DC A Tombikanta, Pherzawl SP Manimohan Singh and all key officials of the new district and high-level police officers too attended the function.

The Chief Minister speaking on the occasion said that Pherzawl district is not created for any particular community.

The seven new districts have been created for administrative convenience and to expedite uniform development across the hills and the valley.

Necessary manpower would be recruited for proper functioning of Pherzawl district administration.

Recently, eight departments/offices were created for Pherzawl district like DC, SP, CMO, ZEO, etc, Ibobi stated.

Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam stressed on the growing need to being unity among different communities of the State.