Union MoS (Home) urges PM to develop Moreh as cantonment town
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 22 2023:
Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convert Moreh town into a cantonment cum commercial town under the Cantonment Act, 2006 .
In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 10th of November this year, Dr.Ranjan said, keeping in view the present fragile law and order situation at Moreh, the town can be converted into a cantonment town as it has all inherent cosmopolitan commercial characters.
He said; let the Bharat Army run this prospective trading border town under a governing body or board.
Under the protection of the impartial soldiers, all ethnic communities will feel safe and secure.
He wrote that the existing Free Movement Regime with Myanmar may be scrapped and in its place a more pragmatic system may be formulated in the National interest of both the countries.
Dr Ranjan said, "As Moreh is a golden goose for our country, let us redeem peace and normalcy at Moreh and make it functional at the earliest" .
Moreh is a strategic border town located in Manipur at the Indo-Myanmar boundary.
Due to the ongoing ethnic tension, the population has come down drastically as most of the people have fled and only a few thousand are staying there as of now, Dr RK Ranjan said.
Giving its account of history, Dr Ranjan wrote that during 1948-49 there were no settlements except some Meitei settlers from Kabaw Valley and Tamils, Punjabis and Biharis who had come to Moreh after the separation of Burma from British India in 1937 .
These people were working in the Government establishment and private companies in Mandalay and Rangoon before 1937 .
The first Chief Minister of Manipur Maharaj Kumar Priyabrata Singh (Captain PB Singh) asked one trader called Murali to establish a business centre with the assurance of Rs one lakh for the establishment but the trader denied.
Now, Moreh is a unique town inhabited by many people belonging to different communities or ethnicities.
It has been economically a significant border town for all communities, he said.
A congenial ecosystem existed in the border township with the participation of different communities.
However, the congenial atmosphere vanished after the conversion of the area to tribal autonomous council during the year 2012 .
For the multi-ethnic Moreh town, the priority should be peace and prosperity rather than fighting one another, Dr Ranjan wrote.
He said, "We need to do much more for the betterment of the trading activities at Moreh which is an indispensable part of our Act East Policy.
As an unfortunate repercussion of ethnic clash, Moreh town has been converted into a ghost town.
The trade and business remains defunct for almost six months now.
So, Moreh requires a foolproof and secure system for both the inhabitants and their business" .
Seeking the Prime Minister's attention toward making Moreh a cantonment cum commercial Town on the model of Delhi Cantonment Board for running the affairs of Moreh he said, a more flexible hybrid management model involving both military and civil authorities including local representatives may be worked out for flawlessly running the proposed commercial, cantonment town.