Zeliangrong bodies rebut K's statement
Tamenglong villages rivalry : Vegetable farms ravaged
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 25 2012: Three terraced vegetable farms of Joujangtek village, Nungba sub-division, Tamenglong district have been reportedly ravaged by villagers of neighbouring Nungsai Tairenpokpi.

Joujangtek villagers showed the ravaged farms to a team of media persons today.

Briefing the media persons, Joujangtek village chief Henkhopao Haokip said that Nungsai Tairenpokpi village chief Poujanglung Gonmei came with around 100 villagers in seven jeeps at about 9.30 am of August 21 and ravaged the terraced farms.

Poujanglung and his men first attacked a vegetable farm located around 3 Kms away from Joujangtek village.

They hacked and uprooted all the vegetables including cabbage and sugarcane being cultivated there.

They also abused and threatened Thonglet Haokip, Henkhopao's uncle who was looking after the farm.

The assailants further demolished a farm hut.

A ravaged farm at Joujangtek village

One Hepang (52) and Nohminlal (18) who were preparing to manufacture charcoal in the nearby wooded area were not only assault but also kept under the custody the whole night.

The duo are currently undergoing treatment at RIMS, said Henkhopao.

After this, Poujanglung and his men devastated two terraced fields where beans of different varieties were cultivated.

Earlier on August 18, Henkhopao received a letter from the Nungsai Tairenpokpi asking the former to stop terraced cultivation and manufacturing of charcoal with a threat that legal action would be initiated if he was not obeyed.

On the day, the terraced farms were ravaged, Henkhopao wrote a letter to his Nungsai counterpart to settle the issue of ravaging vegetable farms after Nungsai villagers compensate the loss.

But there was no response.

Nonetheless Henkhopao villagers decided to wait for one week.

According to the estimates of the Joujangtek villagers, the approximate value of the vegetables destroyed was Rs 14.60 lakhs.

Regarding inter-village boundary, Henkhopao said that earlier the two villages settled together at the place where the first terraced farm now stands and they had their own boundaries.

As time went by, the villages shifted to different places and that was around 90 years back.

"We have all the documents which can prove that the existing area belongs to us", claimed Henkhopao.

"The issue is not a communal issue between Joujangtek and Nungsai and we don't have any intention to create unwanted incidents out of it", he said.

If necessary, the battle would be fought in law court, he added.

Henkhopao further clarified that Joujangtek villagers have nothing to do with the assault on Sanasam Tomba of Bishnupur who was working as a cultivator in the terraced farm of the Nungsai village chief on August 22 .