Authorities asked to neutralise objections
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 16 2025:
The United Committee Pukhao and the Makeng GP have appealed to the authorities concerned to ward off illogical objections and provocations to Meitei farmers cultivating crops at their Leitanpokpi paddy fields.
Speaking to media persons at Manipur Press Club here today, United Committee Pukhao and Makeng GP advisor Naorem Nageshwor appealed to the authorities concerned to take due responsibility to avoid confrontations like the one seen on June 15, 2025 at Leitanpokpi, Imphal East.
A large number of Kukis including women crossed the buffer zone demarcated by Central forces and attacked Meitei farmers who went to till their own paddy fields.
The Kuki mob pelted stones and fired slingshots toward the Meitei farmers thereby injuring many farmers, Nageshwor said.
Not far away from the Kuki mob, Kuki militants fully armed and in combat fatigue were seen standing and backing the mob.
The Meitei farmers retaliated too, leading to tense face off, he said.
On learning about the confrontation, Central forces including Assam Rifles, CRPF and BSF who were deployed in nearby areas rushed in.
On seeing the Central forces, the armed Kukis climbed up the nearby hills right in front of everybody including the Central security personnel.
On the request of the Meitei farmers to carry out search operations in the adjoining hill areas and nabbed the armed Kuki militants and miscreants, they (Central security personnel) went to the nearby hill areas purportedly to carry out search operations.
But instead of nabbing the armed Kukis, the Central security personnel came back empty handed after drinking water at the Kuki villages, Nageshwor said.
Such conduct of the Central security personnel has only reinforced people's suspicion that they are partisan and biased, he asserted.
Laws must be implemented uniformly across both the hills and the valley in order to restore peace in Manipur, he said.
The confrontation witnessed on Sunday could have been avoided had the Central security personnel prevented the Kuki miscreants from crossing the buffer zone, Nageshwor said.
Salam Ibotombi, a farmer of Pukhao Leitanpopki said that the company commander of the BSF troops deployed in the area must be held accountable for yesterday's incident.
Salam Ibotombi said that they took the BSF company commander's permission before going to till the paddy fields, and it took days to obtain the permission.
Even after obtaining permission, the BSF company commander always tried to stop the farmers from going to their paddy fields on one pretext or another.
"Yesterday too, the commando asked the farmers to go to the fields another day.
Pointing out that the days for tilling the fields were slipping away, the farmers insisted that they would go to the fields even without security personnel.
Subsequently, the farmers went to their paddy fields without around 10 BSF personnel", Ibotombi recounted.
The farmers have been facing lots of inconveniences and difficulties as they have to take permission from Central security forces to cultivate crops in their own fields for the last two years, he said.
Cultivation of paddy needs lots of care, attention and inputs in time.
Any of these procedures cannot be skipped but the farmers were not given permission to go to their paddy fields, he decried.
He then appealed to the authorities to allow the farmers free movement to their paddy fields.
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