Protest demanding district status for Jiribam enters 2nd day
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 01 2011: After remaining silent for over four years, the district status demand for Jiribam, a sub-division of Imphal East district, resurfaced when people at border with Assam rose up and protested as government failure to convert the sub-division into a full-fledged revenue district.

The protest which they start with sit-in protest under the aegis of Jiribam District Demand Committee (JDDC) has entered second day Wednesday.

The protest started from Tuesday.

The Jiribam District Demand Committee, a group formed by student organisations, meira paibi groups and other social organisations of the subdivision in 2006, in a meeting held on May 30 last took a decision to intensify its agitation after the government failed to keep its assurance given in the last Assembly election in 2007 .

Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh failed to take any decision on the upgradation of the subdivision into a revenue district even after four years has passed since the last assurance given by the chief minister.

It may be mentioned that the JDDC with the support of 12 other organizations had launched stern agitations demanding a full-fledged district of Jiribam since 2006 .

The committee had burned down many government offices and even socially boycotted the local MLA as a part of their agitation movement.

The JDDU suspended the agitation when the chief minister who visited the sub-division with the local MLA Th Debendro who is currently minister of revenue, forest and environment, assured that a cabinet decision will be taken regarding the conversion of the sub-division into a full-fledged district.

But, even after the second term of the SPF government is about to complete its five year term no action taken tilldate JDDC lamented.

The full-fledged district demand for Jiribam is one of the three issues giving headache to the government.

Sardar hills sub-division of Senapati district and Phungyar sub-division of Ukhrul district are also demanded conversion into full-fledged revenue districts of the state.

While Phungyar district demand was recently comes up while the demand for formation of Sardar hills as separate district by bifurcating Senapati district is more than two decades old.

Government was about to declare Sardar hills sub-division as a separate district but it was delayed when strong objection came up from Senapati based civil organisations.

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