COPTAM calls 60 hrs bandh
Source: The Sangai Express / S Singlianmang Guite
Lamka, June 20 2011:
Claiming that the ultimatum served to the State Government earlier, expired yesterday, COPTAM has today announced that it would go ahead with the 60 hour bandh as was warned before and added that it would take recourse to more aggressive steps if nothing constructive transpires within the bandh period.
The bandh that is scheduled to begin on Friday (June 24) evening at 5 pm will continue till 5 am of Monday (June 27) next.
Announcing the committee's decision to reporters and correspondents here, COPTAM President Letpu Haokip said, only the Press, Medical and Schoolsnot educational institutions will exempted from the purview of the 60 hour bandh.
The main agenda of the bandh, which is set to disrupt normal life for at least two successive days, according to Haokip is to pressurize the State Government to immediately address their long pending demands relating to the tribals.
Among other points, the demands raised by COPTAM include re-inserting the names of genuine citizens whose names have been forcefully deleted from the Census 2011 .
This is one of the latest demands, he said.
Initially there was over-lapping of names and this was followed by deletion of names from the Census.
The State Government claimed that there is no forceful deletion of names in the Census, but when the biometric system began the truth came out in the persons of a large number of people, whose names are not in the list anymore, he said.
The other notable demands include restoration of original district boundaries, transferring of tribal's land records to their respective districts, administration of Moreh under one District and not in a dual mode as is now and the rejection of the proposed two amendments relating to the tribals.
On the pressing issue of upgrading Jiribam to a district status, Haokip said 'unless the district is to be a hill district we will oppose any move of upgrading it to a full fledged status' .
Demands to upgrade Jiribam to a full fledged district had peaked recently.