Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, September 20, 2010:
Another hindrance came in the normal conduct of Census 2011 in the hill areas of the state when miscreants snatched away 36 boxes containing house listing and NPR forms from a Sub-Divisional Office in Churachandpur district.
Census exercise in Manipur have been receiving disturbances in hill areas, particularly in Churachandpur district, where civil and students� bodies are demanding maintenance of original district boundaries on the basis of village boundaries that fell within the jurisdiction of the hill district at the time when the General Census Operation, 2011 began.
The boxes containing the said items were stored at a room of the SDO, Churachandpur.
They were taken away by force by miscreants during office hours, at about 1 pm, on Saturday last but the matter came to light only today when the sub-divisional officer lodged a complaint to the Churachandpur police.
Churachandpur SDO Maunuamching, in her complaint with the police, said that some miscreants forcibly entered the office around 1 pm and took away 36 boxes containing house listing and NPR (National Population Register).
Churachandpur police registered an FIR case under 451/51 (trespassing) and 384/34 (extortion) and an investigation is on, an official source said.
Police suspected volunteers of Churachandpur District Students Union (CDSU), agitating against alleged overlapping of some villages of the district with neighbouring districts behind the snatching of boxes containing materials related with the Census.
Mention may be made that the CDSU is demanding settlement of inter-district boundaries before the Census Operation alleging that many villages of the district were included in the revenue villages of neighbouring districts, Bishnupur and Tamenglong district.
The students� body is also extending support to the agitations launched by the Committee on Protection of Tribal Area Manipur (COPTAM) demanding among others restoration of original hill district boundaries, transfer of land records to ADCs concerned.
COPTAM�s list of demands includes maintenance of original hill district boundaries on the basis of village boundaries which was within the jurisdiction of the hill district, prior to the conduct of General Census Operation, 2011 by the respective hill districts� DCs on the basis of the payment of Hill House Tax.