Hill bandh passes off peacefully
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Pamreiso Shimray

Ukhrul, September 25 2012: The 48-hour total bandh imposed in the five hill districts of Manipur by tribal student bodies over their demand for setting up Teacher's Eligibility Test (TET) examination centres in all the headquarters of the hill districts passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents.

The bandh came into effect from midnight of September 23 .

According to the reports, the two-day total bandh witnessed completely shut down of normal activities in the five hill districts namely Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul.

The bandh also disrupted normal functioning in various sectors like educational institutions, public and private offices, business establishments and transport services.

The bandh was jointly imposed under the aegis of Joint Committee of Hill District Students' Organising (JCHDSO) comprising Naga Students' Union Chandel (NSUC), Zeliangrong Students' Union Manipur (ZSUM), Senapati district Student's Association (SDSA), Churachandpur District Student's Union, and Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) .

Local sources said the bandh was successful in Chandel and Senapati towns with transporters staying off the road and other establishments remaining shut.

In Ukhrul, the TKS stated that the public have fully cooperated with the call and the bandh passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents.

TKS president Yangmi Khapai asserted that the agitation will continue until their demand is met and added that the decision has been jointly taken by tribal student bodies.

"The state government has always backtracked on the issue since last year, and we will never allow this to happen this time," he stated.

For over a year, the tribal student bodies have been demanding for opening of TET examination centre in all the district headquarters.

Earlier, the demands included deferment of examination date and distribution of forms in every district, for which the state government had already fulfilled with a rider.

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