Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 21:
Police today said about 6414 Nagas have left Manipur valley for hill districts in the past few days because of threat calls from some Naga militants and in view of the anti-ceasefire agitation.
A senior police official told PTI that the Nagas who have left the valley were camping at Senapati and Ukhrul.
The official said these Nagas mostly from Nagaram, Paomei Colony and surrounding areas had received calls from anonymous persons suspected to be Naga militants to leave the valley as they (militants) were reportedly prepared to take action in view of the ceasefire extension issue.
He said there was however, no report of any Naga fleeing to Tamenglong district and strongly refuted a private television channel report that about 20,000 Nagas from the valley had fled to the hills.
Reports from the districts said NSCN (I-M) have set up three �relief camps� at Tamenglong, Senapati and Ukhrul to provide help and assistance to any Naga leaving the valley.
Official sources said there was however, no official relief camps set up by the Government in any hill districts or valley in the State.
"There is complete communal harmony in Manipur at present, and any media or group should not publish any provocative statement which would create communal tension in the region," official sources added.
A spokesman of the People's Forum said hundreds of Nagas of seventy families who had gone to hills have returned to their respective homes in the valley.
Meanwhile an earlier PTI report said that spread of communicable diseases among camps where people who had left Imphal valley and taken shelter at Senapati looms large as they were yet to be provided with basic minimum facilities by Manipur Government.
Since first week of July, hundreds of Nagas started moving out of the valley due to fear psychosis and were taking shelter at this headquarter town of Senapati district, about 75 km from Kohima.
The refugees, whose official figure did not tally with the figure provided by the NGOs, were living in 12 camps run by local NGOs and nearby villagers.
They were mostly women, children and students.
Except providing the accommodation facilities, the Manipur Government had not provided any relief material to them because, to the State administration, they were not refugees.
Senapati District Magistrate Kritibash Sarma told a visiting PTI correspondent that the district administration was registering the names of such people and allowed the local NGOs to accommodate them in Government establishments, but no relief materials were provided to them.
"Manipur Government do not regard them as refugees or oustees and I have not recieved any communication to distribute reliefs.
But on daily basis, I am feeding information about the exodus of people to Imphal," he said.
As per the record available with the administration, so far 2168 people from Imphal valley registered their names and around 900 people, mostly children and women, have been taking shelter in temporary camps and others were staying in nearby villages, rented houses and relatives' places.
Sarma said both district and police administration were monitoring the situation arising out of the Naga small town did not have the capacity to accommodate such people, more exodus was feared from the valley as the July 31 deadline draws closer.
The current spell of ceasefire between NSCN-IM and the Centre ends on July 31 and extension of Naga ceasefire without territorial limits begins from August one amidst anti and pro-ceasefire uprise in Manipur and Nagaland respectively.
On the other hand, Senapati District Students Association (SDSA), which is looking after these people on �humanitarian grounds', claimed they had registered little over 5,800 people as �displaced persons�,.
SDSA gen.
secy.
Robert Maram said so far they have not received any relief material from the Government and mobilizing resources along with United Naga Council (UNC), Naga People's Organization (NPO) and other NGOs to maintain camp inmates and those who had taken shelter in villages.
The NGOs said people started coming here and other Naga inhabited towns of Ukhrul, Tamenglong and Chandel since first week of this month just to avoid confrontation with valley people as their attitude towards them became �hostile�.
The inmates as well as NGO leaders admitted that so far no Meitei organizations in the valley asked the Nagas to leave Imphal.