Jiri Meeteis start returning from Assam
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, June 24 2024:
Meetei villagers who fled to various places in Cachar district of Assam after Kuki militants started torching Meetei villages from June 6 are now beginning to return to Jiribam.
According to a police source, many Meetei villagers from Borobekra, Harinagar, Loukoipung, Lamtai Khunou, Chotobekra, Makhabasti, Jirimukh, Leishabithol and Nunkhal fled to Assam after Kuki militants started torching Meetei villages, police out-posts and forest offices in the wake of the ethnic violence triggered by killing of Meetei farmer named Soibam Sarat on June 6.Meetei villagers in these areas abandoned their houses and fled to Cachar district for safety.
However, majority of villagers are starting to return to Jiribam as district police started conduct of routine patrolling including in the night to prevent unwanted incidents in the said areas.
The development had come after leaders of local clubs and organisations along with district police appealed to the villagers to return to Jiribam with gradual return of normalcy, the source added.
On the other-hand, people displaced from Lamtai Khunou and other villages under Bo-robekra block of Jiribam district have been shifted from Jiribam sports complex to Jiribam High School and Ashram Hindi Mahavidyala campus for their convenience.
People from these villages got displaced after their houses were torched by Kuki militants on June 6.The development came after leaders of Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS), Manipur Women's Federation (MWF) and CSOs of Jiribam inspected relief camps currently opened in Jiribam and approached the district administration for addressing inconveniences and sufferings of the displaced people.
Accordingly, CSO leaders along with officials of district administration and Jiribam police started shifting the displaced people from Jiribam sports complex.
Notably, a team of FOCS and MWF reached Jiribam few days back to assess ground situation and conditions of the displaced people sheltered at relief camps.
FOCS and MWF.
teams also facilitated shifting of the first batch of the displaced people from sports complex with the remaining planned for accommodation in other convenient facilities.
Meanwhile, CSO leaders inspected Lamtai Khunou and nearby villages of Borobekra block hit by the violence with the help of Assam Rifles after deployment of security forces have been initiated in the area.
However, a decision to make the displaced people remain at relief camps for the time being was taken as there is possibility of Kuki militants launching attack at vulnerable spots along the road connecting Jiribam headquarters with the remote villages.