Tension in Chadong village sparks clashes at Press Club
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 12 2012:
Tension building up at Chadong village under Ukhrul district for the past many days over the issue of compensation package culminated in a bloody clash at Manipur Press Club here today.
Intervention by media persons and arrival of a City police station team, however, managed to control the situation from taking an ugly turn but not before some villages of the rival groups getting hurt.
At around 2 pm some Chadong villagers were about to brief newspersons on the circumstances that had been responsible for the tension escalating in the village.
As a rival group of villagers showed up and insisted on joining/listening the briefing, the other group already in the first floor hall of Manipur Press Club opposed the insistence subsequently leading to heated exchange of words followed by shoving and pushing and uncontrollable fisticuffs.
The scuffle ceased temporarily after the journalists awaiting the media briefing conveyed to All Manipur Working Journalists' union president A Mobi who arrived and took one representative each of the rival groups into the President's office room to enable them iron out the differences.
|
Even as the trio went inside to sort out the dispute, rival groups loitering at the Press Club premises stormed into the President's office and resumed the fight that spilled into all corners of the Club and beyond.
The bare-hand fighting was so severe that even the AMWJU president who tried to physically intervene and stop the fight had blood stains all over his shirt.
With all attempts to mollify the agitated villagers not having the desired impact, City police station was contacted.
Only after arrival of the police team was the situation brought under control.
Both the rival groups were then asked to vacate the Press Club premises, which they duly obliged.
It is said that there are differences amongst the Chadong villagers on whether to accept or not land compensation for the construction of Maphou Dam, which is a component of the Thoubal Multi-purpose Project.