Aimol bodies set July 10 deadline for clearance of encroachers
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, July 14 2014: The Aimol bodies have threatened to enforce a 24-hour State-wide general strike on July 21, if the concerned authority of State Government fails to evict the illegal encroachers on both sides of the 4 km long inter-village road from Pallel bazaar to Aimol Tampak village by July 20.This was announced during a sit-in protest jointly organized by Aimol Students' Union, Manipur (ASUM); Aimol Tribes Union Manipur (ATUM); MEIUVAR, which is the united body of Aimol Meira Paibee groups; Students' League Manipur (SLM) and Organisation for Movement of Indigenous People of Manipur (OMIPM) at Pallel Bazar today.

.SChunglathang, ASUM General Secretary, said that the width of the 4-km long IVR connecting Pallel Bazar and Aimol village was 40 feet, according to the 1962 map.

However, now the same has been reduced to just 13/14 feet, due to illegal occupation for erecting houses, hotels and shops, etc and the narrow stretch of the road hardly gives space for plying a Tata Truck.

Aimol bodies set July 10 deadline for clearance of encroachers

A number of memoranda have already been submitted to the authority including the Chief Minister for demarcation of the road stretch.

However, no action has so far been taken in response to the villagers' demand, asserted Chunglathang, saying that the villagers had even resorted to blockade of Imphal-Moreh highway pressing their demands.

He also expressed dissatisfaction over the silence of local MLA in this regard and warned, 'if the state government does not take up demarcation of the land and clear the encroachers latest by July 20, the Aimol bodies will enforce a state-wide general strike beginning 6 am of July 21 to 6 am of the next day.

He, however, made it clear that essential services, water supply, health services, religious occasions and the media will be exempted from the purview of the general strike.

If the demands are not conceded by the state government authority even after the general strike, the Aimol bodies will launch severe forms of agitation including indefinite blockade of Imphal-Moreh highway, the ASUM General Secretary disclosed.

Saying that the proposed 24-hour general strike by ASUM, ATUM and MEIUVAR demanding clearance of illegal encroachers is reasonable, S.Umakanta, Convenor of OMIPM stated that OMIPM and SLM would extend support to the move, as the encroachment on the land of the meager Aimol population is one of the reasons for the displacement of the group.

He continued that saving the endangered communities of Manipur is an objective of OMIPM, and appealed to the concerned authority not to indulge in bribery during the demarcation of the road stretch of the Aimols.

If any unofficial financial dealing is spotted, OMIPM would fight it in collaboration with the Aimol villagers, he added.