Sardar Hills district demand resurfaces
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 09 2011:
The demand for conversion of Jiribam into a full-fledged revenue district has resulted in the revival of the demand for making Sardar Hills into full-fledged district.
The Sardar Hills District Demand Committee says that they have no objection to the conversion of Jiribam into a full-fledged district but if government sidelines the demand for making Sardar Hills into a full-fledged district, it will tantamount to burning the state.
General secretary Thangkam Misao of the Sardar Hills District Demand Committee said that they support the demand for making Jiribam and Phungyar sub-divisions into full-fledged districts but government should fulfill the long pending demand of the Sardar Hills people first.
Government should declare conversion of Sardar Hills into a district at least one day ahead of creating Jiribam and Phungyar districts.
Sidelining the issue will invite several kinds of violent agitations, he warned.
He recalled that when the demand for a full-fledged district status for Sardar Hills arose, governments of the times had assured that the demand will be fulfilled after development of all necessary infrastructure needed for creation of a district.
He continued, the sub-division has now all the infrastructure of being a full-fledged district.
Apart from this, the construction of the mini secretariat at Kangpokpi is also near completion and is planned to be inaugurated by July of this year.
Considering the initiative taken by the government in the development of infrastructure, the people have remained silent but if government fails to fulfill the demand even after the inauguration of the mini secretariat, it will be tantamount to invite a people's agitation, the general secretary asserted.
President Ziltham Touthang of the Sardar Hills District Demand Committee reminded that the demand for Sardar Hills district was three decades old and the government has been sidelining the demand although it had bifurcated Imphal district into Imphal East and West districts.
In the series of agitations demanding district status for Sardar Hills launched in the past, lives of many people had been claimed.
Considering the past events and development of infrastructure, it will be a right step for the government to upgrade the sub-division into a full-fledged district, the president asserted.