Sandang Senba alleges incursion, appeals for justice
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 18 2014: The Sandang Senba Maring Village Authority has decried the alleged incursion by around 3000 villagers of Andro who came to Sandang Senba Maring village and claimed that the area belongs to Andro by putting up a flag.

Speaking to media persons at the village community hall today, Sandang Senba Maring Village Authority member KS Morung said that around 3000 people from Andro who were armed with lethal weapons came to Chaphu Uppi, Chonga Loukon within the jurisdiction of Sandang Maring village yesterday and claimed that the area belongs to Andro.

A sign board was put up in August this year endorsing the same claim.

There are around 25 village on Nongmaiching hill range and Sandang Maring village is one of them.

The village is now more than 100 years old.

Incursion within the boundary of Sandang Senba Maring village by the people of Andro was highly condemnable, KS Morung said.

Any such misadventure in future may invite confrontation between Sandang Senba Maring village and Andro, said Morung while appealing to the State Government as well as all civil society organisations to intervene and establish the facts.

KS Morung also asked the Government to deploy security forces in the surrounding areas of their village so as to avoid any untoward incident.

Sandang Senba & Uchal Meitei Joint Development Committee Chairman Medul Maring said that a violent clash took place between Uchal village and Sandang Senba Maring village in 1960 over the ownership of Chaphu Uppi which is now being encroached upon by Andro villagers as a sacred site of their local deity.

The prolonged stand-off between Sandang Senba and Uchal was resolved with the establishment for a joint development committee of the two villages.

He also appealed to the authorities concerned to establish the facts and settle the matter permanently before any untoward, communal conflict breaks out.

Meanwhile, the United Committee Manipur (UCM) has appealed to both the contending parties to avoid any communal flare up out of the land dispute.

A press release issued by the UCM also appealed to both Sandang Senba Maring village and Andro to cooperate with Government officials in their efforts to demarcate proper boundary lines between the two villages.

The Government should ensure that all inter-village land disputes are resolved amicably.

UCM further appealed to the people of Sandang Senba Maring village, Andro village and Uchal Meitei village to maintain calm and normalcy.

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