AMAWU proposes 6 am to 4 pm security cover for farmers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 24 2025: The All Manipur Agriculture Workers Union (AMAWU) has proposed providing security cover for farmers in the fields from 6 am to 4 pm following the recent incident where a farmer was shot at while tending to his field at Phubala.

AMAWU, in a press release issued by its secretary S Nilakamal Singh, welcomed the Government's initiative to provide security cover to farmers by deploying BSF and CRPF personnel, considering recent incidents such as the Pukhao firing and stonethrowing incident on June 15 that intimidated farmers and the Phubala incident of June 19 where a farmer Ningthoujam Biren was shot in the hand by alleged Kuki militants.

Saying that June and July are crucial months for farmers in Manipur as the State largely depends on monsoon rains for paddy cultivation, the Union urged the Government to provide security cover to farmers from 6 am to 4 pm.

Farmers would typically be in the paddy fields from as early as 3 am to as late as 7 pm before the crisis in Manipur, it said adding that farmers have been spending more on hiring tractors and manpower for agricultural work for over two years since the crisis began, while paddy fields measuring around 10 hectare in sensitive areas of valley districts have been left abandoned.

The Union urged the Government to take necessary action to enable farmers to resume agricultural work in the abandoned fields and release the remaining crop insurance compensation.

If farmers return to their fields, the severely affected economy of Manipur would improve to some extent and may facilitate restoration of normalcy, it reasoned.

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